Romance, or Something Like It
by Sleeping Tiger
Summary: Last year, the mane six spent a holiday meant to celebrate lovers with each other.  this year, however, they find themselves celebrating with more than just friends.  Shipping - TSxBM, AJxRD, RAxFP, FSxPP. Contains slash and hetero shipping.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** I know, I'm sorry, I don't wanna have to put an author's note, but I just need to explain about the holiday: This story contains a holiday called Hearts and Soul's Day. I wrote the outline to this story before the announcement of Heart and Hoove's Day. The holiday is central to the story, and until Heart and Hoove's Day is aired, I will keep it as it is. Might change it after the episode airs. Just be aware of non-canon-ness. (But really, how concerned with canon should I be when I'm shipping every character? Heh.)_

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><p>Chapter 1 – Sunrise<p>

_**Sunrise**_

Applejack took a deep breath as she opened her eyes. She stretched, rolled out of bed, fixed the sheets, and ambled to the bathroom to get ready for the day. After that, Applejack trotted over to Apple Bloom's room. Opening the door, she wasn't surprised to see the little filly still asleep. Like a proud mother, Applejack watched her little sister sleeping for a few moments, wondering if she should even bother waking her up that morning. But she knew from experience how grumpy the little filly could get if Applejack didn't keep her sleep schedule consistent through each day, so reluctantly, she nudged the sleeping form.

"Up and at 'em, Apple Bloom," Applejack said softly, pulling back the filly's covers. "Time to get up."

Apple Bloom groaned, curling up after the warmth of her blankets had been removed. "Few more minutes?"

"Now, come on," Applejack said, nudging the filly before opening the drapes and letting the rising sun shine in. "Time to get ready for sch—er, I mean, the day."

Apple Bloom sat upright in her bed, eyes half lidded, taking in what her sister had said before becoming fully aware. Her eyes shot open, the look of exhaustion replaced by that of annoyance. "Aw, Applejack!" The filly said, grabbing her blankets and curling up in her warm bed again. "It's Heart and Soul's Day! We don't even have school! Why do Ah have to get up?"

"Because Ah have to deal with you when you can't sleep at night from getting up so late," Applejack said, pulling back her sibling's covers again. "And then Ah have to put up with yer whinin' all day when you don't get enough sleep. So Ah'm sayin' it's time fer you to get up." With a final nudge to the little filly, Apple Bloom groaned.

"FINE!" she said, getting up in a huff and stomping her hooves as she went to the hallway. She muttered, "When Ah'm an adult, Ah'm leavin' so Ah can get up whatever time Ah want."

"Alright, Apple Bloom," Applejack said, shaking her head, as she fixed the covers on the bed. Fillies! So cute when their was asleep, and then THAT.

As Applejack walked down the stairs, she could smell breakfast being made by Granny Smith. 'That ol' mare sure do get up early to spend the rest of the day sleepin',' Applejack thought to herself. Once downstairs, she greeted her grandmother and her brother with her typical, "Mornin', ya'll," before she helped them set up the table.

A typical morning in the Apple family home: Applejack and Big Macintosh went over what needed to be done for the day on top of their everyday duties. Sometimes they discussed Apple Bloom before she came downstairs, like how she was doing in her studies and how she's progressing in helping to run the farm. Granny Smith would talk about how things were done in the old days while doing her part to make breakfast, if not outright making the entire meal when it was her day, or help plan out any big harvests or sales that were coming up. Then Apple Bloom would come downstairs, bright eyed and bushy tailed, usually talking about what they were going to do in school or with the other 'Cutie Mark Crusaders.'

Today, however, there was a little more electricity in the air. Being a festival day, this usually meant a big day for sales. "Gotta make deliveries this mornin'," Applejack said. "The Cakes are lookin' forward to making some real nice pastries to sell for today. And we gotta go to market with our own baked goods. Ah s'pose Ah could get started on makin' what we need for today while you make the deliveries, and…" Applejack looked at the three members of her family only to see they were staring at her. "…what?"

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom said. "You said you were gunna take it easy this next holiday after workin' so hard over Hearth's Warmin' Eve!"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh agreed with a nod.

"Ah do recall, yes, you did say that," Granny Smith said, closing her eyes and nodding in agreement.

Great. Even Granny Smith agreed with that statement. "Well, Ah can't just take a day off," Applejack defended. "This is a FARM. If we all don't do our part, how in the hay is it gunna run?"

Big Macintosh answered, "One day off won't harm no pony."

"And one day workin' won't harm me none, either," Applejack said, frowning. "What is with y'all? It ain't like Ah don't always get annoyed after a hard holiday season. Ah just said that cause Ah was frustrated."

"Yeah, but Applejack," Apple Bloom said, "You've been workin' so hard since then! You hardly even hang out with your friends anymore!"

"An' it's makin' you grumpy," Big Macintosh finished.

Everypony at the table nodded in agreement.

"HOW exactly have Ah been grumpy?" Applejack asked, her frown increasing.

"Well," Big Macintosh said. "Right now, yer gettin' grumpy." Again, everypony nodded.

"You were just tellin' me this mornin'," Apple Bloom began, "That you have to put up with me when Ah don't get enough sleep, but we have to put up with you when you don't…you know…relax."

"Oh, Ah was just tryin' to get you to get up," Applejack said, though the look on her face gave away that she was trying to play off how she felt about her sister sleeping in.

Big Macintosh pushed his plate aside and looked to Applejack. "We've been doin' fine with sales. The deliveries today will more than cover expenses. Granny Smith has already offered to make pasteries today. Apple Bloom will help her out – it's time she learned, anyhow. We all want you to enjoy the holiday."

Applejack's eyes went wide. Enjoy the holiday? Her? With all the work that needed to be done on the farm? She didn't find the idea of sitting around with so many things that needed to be done left in the hooves of her family in any way relaxing. "And what in the name of Princess Celestia do you expect me to do while y'all are workin' hard? Take a spa day?" Apple Bloom giggled at the idea.

"Go hang out with your friends," Big Macintosh said. "Take Winona for a run. She needs the attention. Enjoy the festival tonight. But we don't want to see you workin' today."

Applejack sighed, looking at Big Macintosh with as forceful a stare as she could give. "Now, you listen to me, Big Macintosh. Ah don't want to just sit around and do nothin' productive. Ah'm gunna go and make my pasteries and sell mah apples and do mah work on the farm, and there ain't nothin' you can do about it!"

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><p>After having been kicked off of the farm until she agreed to take the day off, Applejack walked around Ponyville with a dark cloud over her head. Not a literal one, but surely if there were, it would be raining on her right at that moment. She wasn't even sure where she could go. It was just after sunrise, who would be awake at this hour?<p>

As though to answer her question, Applejack noticed the lights on in the Carousel Boutique. Curious, Applejack trotted up to the door, which had a 'closed' sign hanging from it. But she could clearly hear somepony running around inside, muttering to herself.

Applejack knocked on the door. "We're closed!" Rarity yelled to the door, before a loud, "OW!" could be heard.

"Y'alright in there, Rarity?"

Applejack heard something being knocked over, and what sounded like trotting to the door. When the door opened, a frazzled and sleep-deprived Rarity greeted her. "APPLEJACK! I am SO glad to see you! Come in, come in!"

Applejack cautiously walked inside, seeing bolts of fabric, ribbons, thread, and dress forms spread haphazardly throughout the boutique. The unicorn closed the door behind the earth mare. "Rarity," said the earth pony, "What in the hay happened here?"

"Oh, Applejack," Rarity said as she raced around the room, picking up bolts of fabric and thread with her magic and racing them over to other parts of the room. "I have been up all night trying to finish this dress I promised for a VERY important client in Canterlot. She needs it ready for this afternoon, no later, for the festival tonight. I have been so swamped at work, but I couldn't say no! This could mean big business for the boutique!" Rarity sat at her sewing machine, sewing up a cobalt blue fabric. Next to her was a gown regal enough to be worn at the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Rarity," Applejack said, stepping over the mess to walk up to the mare, "Ya couldn'ta started earlier?"

"Don't you think I would have tried?" Rarity nearly barked at Applejack. "She is a VERY difficult client, and this isn't the first time she's ordered a dress from me last minute. If she didn't have the connections she does in Canterlot, I would have dropped her like…like…like something that needs to be dropped quickly!"

"A bad habit?" Applejack finished.

"Yes! Oh, I'm so tired, I wouldn't know how to finish…"

"A sentence?"

"Yes…" Rarity stopped her frenzied sewing to let out a sigh. She put on her red glasses and rethreaded the sewing machine. "I don't think I'll get any of my other orders finished for the week without pulling two more all nighters. But after that, I have some time off. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm _taking_ time off if I have to stick a rabid manticore at my door to keep customers away! Oh, some time at the spa would be wonderful right now!"

"Oh," Applejack said. "Well, maybe Ah should get outta your mane…" She started backing up.

"No! Applejack!" Rarity dropped what she was doing and turned to the earth pony, putting her hooves on the other's shoulders. "My parents wanted to go to Manehatten for the Heart and Soul's Celebration tonight, so I have to watch Sweetie Belle. But I can't, I simply CAN'T, when I need to do the final fitting in Canterlot!"

Applejack looked at Rarity, giving her a quizzical look. "Well, just come out and say it, then. Ya want me to take Sweetie Belle for the day?"

"If you can," Rarity said. "I know I'm asking a lot. You have so much to do for today, as well, but at least if she is with Apple Bloom, she'll be entertained."

"Well, it works out, Rarity," Applejack said. "The family wants me to take some time off for the festival."

"And YOU said yes?" Rarity asked, now giving Applejack a quizzical look.

"No," Applejack said, looking away, annoyed at what had transpired that morning. "But at least now Ah have an excuse to go back onto the farm." Rarity hugged the earth pony.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me! After I'm done with all my orders, I might just have to make you something fetching, darling!" She went back to her sewing machine, smiling with satisfaction despite how tired she appeared.

"You don't gotta make me anythin', Rarity," Applejack said. "Now…do ya need any help?" Not working on the farm was already starting to drive her crazy.

"No," chimed Rarity's voice as she pulled up the item she was sewing and attached it to the dress, using magic to stitch everything together. At this, Applejack frowned.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle was up bright and early, packing a few items in her saddle bag – just a few necessities, like her books: <em>The History of Pony Holidays from A to Z<em>, and _How_ _to Make the Most of Your Day Off_. She debated whether or not to wear some festive clothing, but thought better of it, before heading back upstairs. Spike had refused to get up early. Now he was fast asleep again, sprawled out in his basket, snoring lightly as Twilight Sparkle scanned the room for anything she might have missed. Satisfied that everything was fine, the unicorn used her magic to tuck Spike in to his basket before heading down the stairs and out the library.

She had to admit, she was excited for the Heart and Soul's Festival the town was going to put on. The year before, she had so much fun with her friends. They had a picnic during the day, and enjoyed the festivities that night as a group. But trying to get her friends together again this year proved to be near impossible. She managed to get Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie for a get together, but Rarity and Applejack had been swamped with work. Rainbow Dash had been missing in action, and the unicorn hadn't had a chance to invite her.

Still, with all the preparations and the excitement for the night's events, she was really looking forward to spending some time with at least some of her friends, if not all. Maybe by the end of the day, she could round up the other three and they could spend time together.

With this goal in mind, Twilight Sparkle trotted towards Sugar Cube Corner. The bakery was going to be open early, and the unicorn promised to help out with stocking the store while the Cakes were busy baking. It was a chance to help out, since the Cakes would be busy that day, as well as talk to Pinkie Pie about their plans, and possibly see some of her friends on a somewhat hectic, but very happy day.

As she walked across Ponyville, the sun rising slowly into the sky, a few early morning vendors were beginning to set up. The streets were being lined with floral decorations. Twilight Sparkle gave a friendly nod to Rose, who was busy spreading rose petals alongside the dirt roads. She knew how much work the pony had put into preparing for this day, and though the mare looked tired, she seemed satisfied that her roses would be so important on such a joyous holiday.

Making her way to Sugar Cube Corner, Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door. After a small wait, Pinkie Pie peeked out of the door, before her face broke into a huge smile. "Twilight! You're here bright and early!" Moving to the side to let the unicorn in, the pink pony was so excited, she was practically buzzing. "We're busy, busy, busy here, as you can tell," she said as she closed the door and walked the unicorn into the store. Twilight Sparkle saw the babies, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, in color coordinated diapers, cooing in the corner as they played a game that only made sense to them. Every movement the other baby made caused the two to fall into a fit of giggles. When the giggles subsided, the other baby would move, and the giggles would ensue all over again.

"Over here, we have set up the cookies and cupcakes," Pinkie Pie went on, taking a cupcake, tossing it in the air, catching it in her mouth, and eating it with gusto. "Mmm! Just right! And over here are the cakes! The food, not the ponies. And here are the pasteries, like streusels and muffins and tarts, and all those good things! And we even have a candy section this year!" Pinkie Pie stood proudly by the set up. "I did it myself! Isn't it great? And back here," said the mare, opening the swinging doors. "Is where all the magic happens!"

Mrs. Cake was carrying a tray of sugar cookies from the oven to the decorating table while Mr. Cake looked over, setting down his piping bag. "Good morning, Twilight," he said. "Thank you again for helping out today. Between the babies and the business, we just can't keep up on a holiday like this anymore! You have no idea how much this helps out."

"It's no problem, Mr. Cake," said the unicorn. "I enjoy the chance to try out new things, especially when it's to help out a good friend." She smiled to Pinkie Pie.

Mrs. Cake set down the cookies, "Oh, dear, no one's watching the babies," she said, before trotting out the swinging doors. "And thank you, Twilight!" she called from behind the doors.

"No problem!"

"Certainly not!" Pinkie Pie said. "Because we're putting you on boxing and stocking duties!" To Mr. Cake, she said, "Trust me, no pony is more organized than Twilight, here!"

"I'm glad to hear it," Mr. Cake said, picking up his piping bag and resuming his work.

Pinkie Pie walked the unicorn through the order fulfillment and stocking process, and Twilight Sparkle went right to it. The work environment was fast paced and chaotic, between Pinkie Pie being herself, the Cakes running back and forth, and the babies constantly needing attention. But the unicorn enjoyed the challenge.

While putting orders in boxes in the back room, there was a knock on the back door. Twilight Sparkle looked around, but she was the only one there at the time. "Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said, sounding strained. "Can you get that?" Curious as to why her friend sounded odd, the unicorn used her magic to open the swinging doors. Pumpkin Cake was chewing on Pinkie Pie's hair, while Pound Cake had the mare in a head lock. "It must be Applejack with the apples," Pinkie Pie continued, jerking backwards, trying to get away from the babies' grips.

"Uh, are you okay?" asked the unicorn.

"Oh, they do this all the time!" Pinkie Pie said. Then, Pound Cake let go of Pinkie Pie and started pounding on her head. "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. MRS. CAKE!"

"Oh, dear!" The baker said, shuffling over to the babies. "You stop that _right now_, Pound Cake."

"I'll just go get the door," Twilight Sparkle said. The swinging doors swung closed just as Mrs. Cake was trying to pry the babies off of Pinkie Pie.

Opening the back door, the unicorn stepped back in surprise. Having expected to see Applejack at the door, she was instead greeted with the large frame of the earth pony's older brother. "Big Macintosh!" said the mare, smiling. "Good Morning! Happy Heart and Soul's Day!"

The red earth pony seemed slightly perplexed at having been greeted by the librarian and not one of the three bakers who ran Sugar Cube Corner. He even stepped back to look at the sign to make sure he was at the right place. "Er…hello, Miss Twilight."

"I'm helping out for the holiday," she explained. "The Cakes and Pinkie are a little tied up right now. So! You brought apples?" The earth pony nodded, before taking off his harness and moving to the side of his apple cart. He took out a bushel of apples, placed it on his back and walked inside.

"Where do ya want 'em?" he asked.

"Oh, uh…I don't know," she said. "Just right there is fine, I guess." As he was putting the bushel down by the table the mare had indicated, Twilight Sparkle noticed something in the stallion's collar. "You look very festive, by the way," said the unicorn.

Big Macintosh looked back at Twilight Sparkle, giving her a puzzled look.

"You have flowers on your collar," she said.

Not being around the earth pony much, Twilight Sparkle was surprised to see the stallion go so wide-eyed. His demeanor was usually so calm and collected, save for a spell changing his behavior. The mare pushed that thought out of her head. Both times she could think of where Big Macintosh was under a spell, she would prefer not to think about. Instead, she watched with some stifled amusement as the earth pony tried to crane his neck and twist his body to see the flowers. When a small laugh escaped, the stallion looked back at Twilight Sparkle, and frowned.

"Here, let me get that for you," she said, walking up to him, balancing herself against his side as she stood on her hind legs and took the flowers off with her mouth. "See?" said the unicorn, showing the stallion a rose and some carnations tied together with a red ribbon.

Big Macintosh looked at the flowers, before frowning. "Apple Bloom…"

"You didn't know she put them on you?" Twilight Sparkle asked, flowers still in her mouth.

"She hugged me before Ah left," he said. "Ah shoulda known…"

Just then, Pinkie Pie came through the door, and upon seeing the two ponies, stopped cold. Then, after a moment of registering what she saw, she smiled broadly. "I didn't know you two were spending the holiday together!" she said, hopping up and down in amusement. "This is SOO great! You'll be Applejack's sister-in-law if you two get married!"

"WHAT?" Twilight Sparkle said, slightly muffled by the flowers in her mouth. She turned beat red. Glancing at Big Macintosh, the stallion once again had a look of shock on his face, before taking two steps away from the unicorn. "PINKIE!" Twilight Sparkle used her magic to take the flowers out of her mouth. "Why would you say that! He was just delivering apples!"

"Well…then why were you giving him flowers?" asked the pink earth pony.

"Wha-I…" Twilight Sparkle looked at the flowers she was holding up, before letting them fall to the floor. "No, no, no, Pinkie, you've got it all wrong. He had the flowers, not me."

"So _he_ was giving _you_ flowers!" Pinkie Pie said, smiling again. "That is so sweet! I wish some pony would give me flowers!"

"Oh, my gosh," Twilight Sparkle said, bowing her head and shutting her eyes. "Pinkie, he had the flowers on him and he didn't know it! I was just taking them off! There is no marriage involved!" She stamped her hoof to make a point.

Pinkie Pie pouted. "But if there was a marriage, then I could plan the party. It would be a wedding no pony would ever forget! I can picture it now-!"

"Uh," Big Macintosh said, interrupting Pinkie Pie before she went into a long-ended description of their fictitious wedding party. "Ah should go. The payment?"

"Oh! I'll go get it from Mr. Cake," Pinkie Pie said. As she turned to trot happily out the swinging doors, she chimed, "Now don't do anything naughty while I'm gone! There ARE babies in the next room, after all." And then the doors swung closed.

Twilight Sparkle stared at the doors, glaring in anger. She would expect this type of behavior from Rarity, but not from Pinkie Pie. Well, okay, Pinkie Pie being inappropriate was not beyond reason, but the mare rarely commented on matters of the heart. Still, the pink mare was probably deeply immersed in the spirit of the holiday for her to make such an assumption of the two ponies.

"Um," said the unicorn, giving a side long look to the stallion. He looked like he had just witnessed something that he couldn't believe. And seeing as he did not often have to deal with Pinkie Pie, he probably did. "That's just how she is. Excuse her."

"Eeyup." Still, he didn't look at Twilight Sparkle. An awkward silence hung in the air until Pinkie Pie came back in with the payment.

"Here you go!" she said with a sing song voice. "Now, I'll leave you two alone to say your goodbyes!" Then her voice turned serious as she pointed a hoof at the two ponies. "Just remember – chocolate is the most romantic of foods in the world. You don't mess around with chocolate and love. Especially when you're surrounded by it!" Humming a merry tune, Pinkie Pie skipped out of the room.

"I don't even…" Twilight Sparkle said, her eye twitching, as she stared at the doors. Then she sighed. She was an adult. She shouldn't let some teasing get in the way of having an adult conversation with a stallion. Turning to Big Macintosh, who was putting away the bits in his saddle bag, she gave the best smile she could muster. "I'm sorry about that. She's just being Pinkie."

"Eeyup," he said again, turning back towards the mare, though not looking at her. He walked towards her, causing the mare to take a few steps back involuntarily. Then he picked up the fallen flowers, and bit off one of the red carnations. He looked to Twilight Sparkle, and raised an eyebrow. "May Ah?"

"Uh…sure," she said, not knowing what he meant. Suddenly, his head was right up against hers.

All of the unicorn's muscles went stiff. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she was sure that Big Macintosh was very close to her. Her heart beat faster, wondering what was going on. A part of her expected him to lick her again, like when he was under Discord's spell. But then, he pulled away, and Twilight Sparkle could see something out of the corner of her left eye. He had put the carnation in her mane.

"It'd be a shame to let them flowers go t'waste," he said, placing the rest of the flowers on the counter. "Have a good holiday, Miss Twilight." And with that, the red earth pony turned, ambled out the door, closing it behind him.

Twilight Sparkle stood there a moment, and she could feel her face had turned red. It didn't take long for her to snap out of it when she turned to see Pinkie Pie peeking in from the open space under the swinging door. She was smiling broadly, and when Twilight Sparkle's eyes fell on her, she couldn't hold back her excitement. "THIS IS SO EXCITING!" she screamed.

"Pinkie!"

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle threw herself into the work she had been assigned – placing orders in boxes – while trying to forget the incident that happened earlier. Of course, it was rather difficult, seeing as Pinkie Pie wouldn't shut up about it, despite the unicorn's protests. The pink earth pony was being so grating about it, that Mr. Cake even had to step in and ask Pinkie Pie to stop, lest she scare away their only extra helper for the day. With an, "Okie Dokie Loki!" the mare finally stopped, and allowed the unicorn to get back to work.<p>

Pushing those thoughts aside, she concentrated on placing an order of red and pink frosted sugar cookies into a box. While looking at the names on the order form, she noticed a familiar name down the list. She pushed the finished order to the side and looked at the name on the list closer.

"Hey, Pinkie!" the unicorn called. Pinkie Pie was in front, setting up the display cases. When she came through the swinging doors, she had frosting on her nose, and Twilight Sparkle recognized the green frosting from a small cake Mrs. Cake had just put out.

"Yes, Twilight?" She batted her eyes at the mare, obviously expecting the unicorn to bring up the incident earlier.

Twilight Sparkle used her magic to lift the list up to Pinkie Pie's face. "What's Rainbow Dash's name doing on the order's list?"

Pinkie Pie's smile faltered for a moment, before she replaced it with an even broader smile, but Twilight Sparkle could see the panic in her eyes. "Oh! That! Well…she has plans for today…"

"Plans?" asked the unicorn. "That she would need to order…" the unicorn looked at the list again, "Four apple tarts for?" Then as the unicorn looked more at the special order description, she frowned. "In the shape of hearts?"

"Well, it IS Heart and Soul's Festival, silly!" Pinkie Pie said, taking the list from the unicorn in her mouth and placing it down. "She's just trying to be festive!"

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight Sparkle asked, raising an eyebrow. "Getting festive over a day that celebrates love? Hearths Warming Eve, I understand, but love?"

"Well, I don't ask 'em! I just sell 'em!" Pinkie Pie said, smiling nervously. "So! Back to work! Ooohh!" Pinkie Pie caught a glimpse of the cookies that Twilight Sparkle was working on, but as she leaned across the work bench to grab some, the unicorn lifted the box up beyond her reach. Pinkie Pie frowned with a huff.

* * *

><p>At the train station, Applejack helped Rarity with her supplies – The unicorn had the dress, the earth pony had the accessories in a bag. The white mare loaded her items onto the train, before leaning out the window. "If you would be a dear and pick up Sweetie Belle within the next hour? My parents will be leaving around then. Thank you so much, Applejack! Ta-ta!" The mare closed the window without the earth pony having time to say anything.<p>

The morning sun had risen into the sky enough that the town was mostly awake, and Applejack sighed in defeat at having lost so much work time because of her family. Resigned to having to spend the day "relaxing", the mare trotted back towards town, wondering what she was going to do with herself.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2 - Early Morning_

Applejack walked through Ponyville, a very excited Sweetie Belle following her. "And then we can make cookies and cakes, and do some crusading, and hang out at the tree house and play games. It will be so great! Thanks for taking me to the farm, today!"

"Ain't no trouble, sugar cube," Applejack said, watching where she was walking rather than the frantic running the little unicorn was doing around her. "Apple Bloom outta be happy to see you. She didn't think you'd get to hang out 'til later tonight. She's s'posed to be helping Granny Smith this mornin' with bakin', but Ah'm sure we can find somethin' you can do."

"Hey, you know what we should do?" Sweetie Belle said. "We should go pick up Scootaloo! She was going to meet with Apple Bloom this afternoon, anyway!"

"Sure, if that's what you're wantin', Sweetie," Applejack said, looking around the town square as vendors were beginning to set up. She saw a new booth there – a fortune telling booth – that wasn't there last year, and wondered who in town would want to go into one of those. She knew Twilight Sparkle would have a field day talking about how ridiculous the whole thing was if she saw it.

"You wanna get your fortune told, Applejack?" asked the little unicorn. Applejack looked down at the little filly, who looked up at her with big eyes. "Rarity has had her fortune told a couple of times. She thinks it's REALLY fun. She's been told about twelve times before that she is going to meet a handsome unicorn stallion who would sweep her off her hooves. She used to think it meant the Prince, 'of course!'" She said, imitating Rarity's voice.

"No, that's alright," Applejack said, giving a strained smile to the filly. Then she saw a yellow Pegasus walking down the dirt road towards her, a basket balanced on her head filled with something furry and moving. "You go get Scootaloo. Meet me back here." Sweetie Belle nodded and wandered off to do just that. Applejack trotted up to Fluttershy, who seemed to be concentrating on something else as she walked and didn't notice the farmer take step next to her. "Mornin', Fluttershy!" Applejack said, causing the Pegasus to start.

"Oh, Applejack!" said the mare. "Good morning. Happy Heart and Soul's Day!"

"You seem distracted this morning," she said. She thought for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Well, Ah don't s'pose you have somepony in mind to take to the festival tonight, do you?"

"What?" Fluttershy nearly screeched, the basket on top of her head wobbling. "Oh, no! I could never! I'm much too shy to ask anypony to the festival. Not that anyone would even want to ask me."

"Well," Applejack said, "Whatcha got on yer mind, then?"

"I'm taking Angel to the vet," she said, a sad expression on her face. "The medicine I have on hoof doesn't seem to be working, and I can't figure out what's wrong with him! Do you think it could be some new, uncurable disease that's spreading among bunnies?" She looked to Applejack, hoping for answers. Applejack looked up at the basket. At that point, the little white rabbit turned in his basket, leaning out of it, with a pained expression on his face. When he noticed the orange mare looking at him, he lifted his paw to his forehead in a melodramatic fashion, hacking and coughing.

"Ah'm sorry to hear that, Fluttershy. It's prob'ly just a bug. He's a young varmint—er, bunny. Ah'm sure he'll be fine."

"I hope so," Fluttershy said. Another dramatic cough from the bunny made the mare pick up her pace. "Oh! I'm hurrying, Angel Bunny, don't you worry! I'll talk to you later, Applejack." Applejack waved to the mare as she trotted off. Just then, a voice sounded next to her.

"Was Fluttershy wearing a live rabbit on her head, or has Rarity given her a new hat?" Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash standing next to her, her head to the side, looking quizzical. Seeing the cyan Pegasus put a smile on Applejack's face.

"Mornin', Rainbow. Angel Bunny is sick. She's takin' him to the vet."

"Oh, that explains it," Rainbow Dash said. "Must be really sick for her to take him to the vet, though, rather than take care of him herself." Applejack nodded in agreement. The Pegasus looked over to the orange mare, and she smiled. Applejack got a sense that she was nervous about something. "So, you're finally off the farm, aren't you?"

Applejack sighed. "Mah family MADE me take the day off. Ah'm gunna see if Ah can't worm mah way back in there, though. There's a lot of work to be done."

"Oh, come on, Applejack, its Hearts and Souls Festival. A FESTIVAL! If anypony needs a break for today, it's you!"

"Everypony keeps sayin' that," Applejack said, somewhat surprised by the remark. "But it's a big sellin' day for the Apple Family."

"Right," Rainbow Dash said, "But you took last year off."

"Ah wanted to make Twilight's first Festival in Ponyville special. Ah got a lotta work to finish!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Your family kicked you off the farm, you would think that sent a message into your head that you should take the day off." She used her hoof and knocked it on Applejack's head to make her point. "Imagine my surprise when I couldn't find you there!"

"Well, Ah….you couldn't find me there?" asked the earth pony. "You were lookin' for me?"

"I-uh-er…" Rainbow Dash looked away, taking a moment to compose herself. "Yeah, I was," she said. "I had the same thought as your family. I thought we should…you know…hang out, today. And I don't mean just at the festival, I mean the whole day."

"Like last year?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ye-well, no," Rainbow Dash said. "The other's are busy. Just…you know, just you and me." Applejack stared at the Pegasus, surprised. She couldn't remember the last time they had spent alone together. Sure, they were together often, but not ALONE together much. "We can even hang out on your farm, if you're not willing to let go of that…" She gave a wry smile.

Applejack smiled back. "Well, Ah don't suppose it would hurt t'actually have fun for a while. It's what mah family was tellin' me to do…"

"There you go!" Rainbow Dash said. Her face flushed upon Applejack accepting, which made the mare question in her mind what the pegasus' intentions were. "I have to pick something up. Can I meet you at your place?"

"Works out," Applejack said. "Ah gotta take Sweetie Belle—" Applejack stopped as she looked down to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle silently watching the exchange between the mares. "How long have you two been there?"

"About two minutes!" Scootaloo said. "Hi, Dash! You're gunna be on the farm today, too? Maybe we could hang out together! That would be SO AWESOME!" A huge grin split across her face.

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle said. "You could help us get our cutie marks!"

Rainbow Dash, who had also not noticed the two fillies arrive, laughed nervously. "I think I'm gunna be busy today, kid, but thanks for the offer." Both the fillies gave a sad, "Aww…" and looked down, punctuating their disappointment.

"Come on, now, you two," Applejack said, waving a hoof. "The sooner we get goin', the sooner you can start crusadin'. Apple Bloom will be happy to see you both." To Rainbow Dash, she said, "I'll see ya on the farm?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in a jiff!" Applejack smiled and walked off with the two fillies prancing around her, talking quickly to each other about the things they were going to do that day. Taking a quick glance back, the earth pony noticed Rainbow Dash wilt in relief. Applejack once again raised an eyebrow, before picking up her pace back home.

* * *

><p>Rainbow Dash made her way to Sugar Cube corner. The morning was bustling with excitement as every pony in Ponyville prepared for the night's festival. Already, she could see couples meeting up to spend the day together. Public displays of affection weren't really something she enjoyed seeing, but even she could appreciate how Lyra greeted Bon Bon by pouncing her. She thought it was even more amusing when they ended up on a heap on the ground. And it made her laugh to hear Lyra question the confused earth pony, now sprawled on the ground, as to why Bon Bon didn't catch her.<p>

Seeing that made Rainbow Dash a little nervous. She wondered if she would ever have something like that.

"Psssst. Rainbow!" The Pegasus looked up to see Pinkie Pie leaning out of a window from Sugar Cube Corner. "Rainbow! Come HERE!" she said in a high pitched whisper.

"Uh…hey, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said, walking up to the pony leaning out the window. "…something wrong with the door?"

"No, of course not!" said the pink mare as though the very idea was absurd, despite the fact that she had about two thirds of her body out the window. She resumed her frenzied whispering. "I had to tell you before you came in. Twilight's here helping out, and she SAW YOUR NAME on the pastries list!"

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said, shrugging. "So she saw my name, so what?"

"She's sus-pi-cious!" said Pinkie Pie in a sing song voice. "She's a really smart cookie, Rainbow. Even smarter being a cookie in a bakery! She's going to ask you a question, and BAM!" Pinkie Pie smacked one hoof into another to emphasize her point. "She'll know what you're up to!"

Rainbow Dash's muscles tightened at the thought. It was one thing that she was already nervous to spend the afternoon with Applejack, but now to have Twilight Sparkle asking questions about it? Maybe even getting in the way, somehow? It was one thing to tell Pinkie Pie, but she knew how powerful a Pinkie Pie promise not to tell was for the pink mare. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hoof…well, Pinkie Pie had mentioned before to Rainbow Dash how horribly the unicorn had failed at not telling a promise. For something like this… "Oh, crud," said the Pegasus. Then, she danced from one hoof to another. "What do I do, Pinkie? Abandon the pastries?"

"No, silly," the pink mare said, smiling and resuming her normal voice. "No need for extreme measures! I paid for them for you. I'll just give them over to you right now. Consider it an investment in your future relationship!"

That comment made Rainbow Dash blush. "Uh…thanks, Pinkie."

"Now, let me just…" Pinkie Pie leaned back into her window and turned around. Then both she and the Pegasus screamed, "YAH!"

Twilight Sparkle was standing there, eyes narrowed, staring at the two, a pastry box floating next to her with her magic elevating it. Upon seeing Rainbow Dash, the mare smiled a knowing smile. "You're up early, Rainbow."

"Er, uh…yeah, good morning, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, rubbing a hoof on the back of her head. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Yes, Pinkie didn't tell me about the new fly-through window," said the unicorn, eying the nervous pink pony with suspicion. "But how hard is it to tell something is going on when you see half of a pony sticking out of a window?"

"Something going on?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to wave the subject off with her hoof. "Come on, it's Pinkie Pie. Do you really think leaning out of a window is the weirdest thing she's done?"

Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously in agreement, before adding, "It's actually not that weird for me to be leaning out of a window at all! Just ask the Cakes. It actually happens more often than not," she said, frowning to herself as she thought of it.

Mrs. Cake, who was trotting past the three with a tray of cupcakes balanced on her head, said, "It's true, dears. Half the time, she's not even sure why…" before heading out the swinging doors.

"Um," Twilight Sparkle said, looking to where Mrs. Cake had disappeared, before turning back to Rainbow Dash. "So. Heart-shaped apple tarts?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes dramatically and scoffed. "Can't a pony enjoy some pastries in the form of a vital organ without being questioned about it?"

"On a day named after said organ?" Twilight Sparkle said, using her magic to wave the pastry box tantalizingly in front of the mare. "It raises some questions."

Rainbow Dash lunged forward to grab the pastries, but Twilight Sparkle pulled them back, leaving the Pegasus half hanging through the bakery window. "And _apple_ tarts, no less."

Rainbow Dash felt her stomach clench when she heard that, and could do little to hide the shock that registered on her face. "Oh," Pinkie Pie moaned. "I told you her powers would be greater in a bakery!"

"Twilight," Rainbow Dash said, frowning, reaching forward, the box of pastries just out of reach. "Why do you CARE?"

"Why do I care?" she asked, stepping back indignantly. "Because, I can already see where this is going! You've been avoiding me, haven't you? Because you didn't want to make plans for today! What happens when you two start dating?"

"Hey, keep it down!" Rainbow Dash said, looking over to the swinging doors, only wondering how many ponies picking up their early morning goods had heard the unicorn. "You're making a big deal out of nothing! We're just hanging out today!"

"With heart shaped apple tarts?" asked the unicorn, shaking the box accusingly. "I've been trying to put together a day today for all of us. I couldn't find you to make plans, and now I know why! Was Applejack lying to me, too?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, putting her back hoofs on the edge of the window sill, and hopping into the bakery. "No, of course not," said the Pegasus. "You know Applejack wouldn't lie to you. The only reason she'll do anything with me today is because her family is forcing her to take the day off." She leaned forward, grabbed the box, and tossed it onto her back. "You know, we spend a lot of time together as a group," she said. "Why can't you give me one day to enjoy alone with AJ without trying to make me feel guilty?" With that, Rainbow Dash hopped back out the window, put the pastry box in her mouth, and flew away.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle continued on with her work even though she had lost all amusement for the holiday. She only needed to finish boxing the last of the day's orders, and after that she could get out of the bakery and try to take her mind off of the morning's events. "Trying to make her feel guilty?" She muttered to herself as she put down a box a little too hard on the work table, and slid it forcefully to the stack of boxes next to her. "She should ALREADY feel guilty, ignoring her friends. Element of loyalty, my eye! Just who is she being loyal to? She could have still had time today with Applejack if we had worked together. Together, we could have had the best day! All we would be missing is Rarity, but maybe we could have gotten her after she came back from Canterlot, but noooo." Another three boxes filled, she shoved them forcefully to the side and looked at the list again. There were no new names.<p>

Flipping the list over incase she missed some, she frowned. During her vehement pastry packing, she had lost track of time and now she had nothing to do. That meant one thing…

She had to go out front and talk to Pinkie Pie.

That normally wasn't so bad of a thing, but she was upset with Pinkie Pie as well for lying to her! Plus embarrassing her that morning with Big Macintosh. 'You're a grown mare, Twilight," she thought to herself. 'You can deal with this. It's just one day.' Twilight Sparkle took in a deep breath, released it, then walked into the sales floor of the bakery.

To her surprise, Pinkie Pie was talking Fluttershy. The yellow mare seemed very despondent, which made Twilight Sparkle concerned. "Fluttershy," said the unicorn, trotting up next to Pinkie Pie.

"Oh. Hello, Twilight," Fluttershy said sadly. "Pinkie told me you were helping out today. I hope I'm not disturbing you from your work."

"Actually, I just finished everything I need to do," the unicorn said. "Is something wrong?"

Fluttershy looked to Pinkie Pie, before looking sadly back to Twilight Sparkle. "I came here to talk to you. I won't be able to make it out today." Twilight Sparkle blinked.

"…what?" She could feel herself seething inside as she began to realize that her friends had all but abandoned, if not disappointed her on such a joyous holiday.

"Well, you see," Fluttershy said, looking panicked at whatever emotion could be read on Twilight Sparkle's face. "Angel Bunny is sick, and I took him to the vet, and the vet said she needs to keep him over night, and I just couldn't leave him. How could I? He's never had to go to the vet before because I've always been able to take good care of him at home. And now that I've failed to do that, I have to be there for him, and…please don't be mad at me…" As she explained, her voice got softer and softer, until she had crouched down low to the floor, trying to hide in the puddle of her own hair that formed on the ground.

Twilight Sparkle let out an exasperated sigh. "It's okay, Fluttershy, I'm not mad at you. You didn't want this to happen. I'm just….I'm just frustrated, is all. I had so many plans, and now no one can come out."

"I can still come out with you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said, beaming with a smile.

"No, Pinkie," Twilight Sparkle said, taking a step back. "It…it just wouldn't be the same. I think I'll just huddle up with a good book tonight."

"A book?" Pinkie Pie said. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You HAVE to go out tonight! If not during the day, then at least to watch the sunset, tonight! The Pegasus say they're going to perform a doozy of a show this year!"

"Maybe," Twilight Sparkle said. "I might come out with Spike later tonight. He always enjoys the Hearts and Soul's Sunset."

Fluttershy lowered her head sadly. "You're not going to enjoy this day because of me. I've ruined your holiday."

"No, Fluttershy, not at all," Twilight Sparkle said. "You didn't expect Angel to get sick. My day was already shakey. It's probably better this way." To Pinkie Pie, she said, "Tell Mr. and Mrs. Cake the orders are finished and that I said goodbye, okay?" Twilight Sparkle didn't wait for an answer, just started to trot out of the bakery.

She hadn't taken more than a few steps when Pinkie Pie was calling after her. "Twilight! Wait! Wait a second! Twilight!"

"What, Pinkie?" she spun around, annoyed that the pink mare had been running after her, calling for her, when she was just two feet away. Pinkie Pie had a box on her back, which she pulled out and gave over to Twilight Sparkle.

"I promised I would give these to the Apple family today," she said, putting it down in front of the unicorn. "I was going to send it with Rainbow, but she had left before I remembered!"

"Uh-huh," Twilight Sparkle said, suspicion in her tone. "And you couldn't remember this when Big Macintosh was here earlier?"

"Well, they weren't ready then, silly!" said the pink mare, her eyes bright. "And I can't get away for another few hours, so if you could take these over to them? I'd love you forever if you did that!"

"I'm sure you'd love me forever even if I broke a Pinkie Promise," Twilight Sparkle said.

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. "Twilight," she said in a serious tone. "You NEVER kid about that. Ever."

"Pinkie. You just want me to take these over because you think there is something going on between me and Big Macintosh, and there isn't. So there's not point in going over there!"

"That is sooo not why I'm asking you to do this!" Pinkie Pie said, lifting up her front hoof, indignant. "Just so you know, everypony else is gone for the day, and I thought this could be the last favor you did for me today!" She turned her head to the side with an incensed huff the likes to rival anything Rarity could have done. Pinkie Pie opened an eye to look at Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn wasn't buying it.

Pinkie Pie frowned. "Okay! So, that's a bonus, but I really, really, really did forget when Rainbow came over to give these to her! Really! And I can't ask Fluttershy to do it. She's so sad right now, and needs to be with Angel Bunny. And I don't know if the Cakes are going to ask me to baby sit for tonight or not – they said it depended on how tired they were after the morning rush was over. So, please! Please, please, please, please, please!"

"OKAY!" Twilight Sparkle said. She levitated the box with her magic. "With any luck, they'll be too busy working to pay attention to me dropping them off, anyway."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said, hugging the unicorn so hard, she nearly dropped her box of sweets.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle trotted along the rose petal lined dirt roads as ponies greeted each other for the morning. Every pony else seemed happy except for the unicorn. Her day was really started to drag, and it wasn't even afternoon, yet. She followed the dirt road that led to Sweet Apple Acres, noticing how slowly the amount of rose petals dissipated until there were none. 'There,' thought the unicorn. 'Maybe now I can get this holiday out of my mind for a while.'<p>

Once past the sign and up near the red farm house she knew so well, she saw Big Macintosh fixing up a cart full of pastries. Considering how many baked goods the Apples had to sell, the box on her back felt superfluous. Now Twilight Sparkle felt silly even being there in the first place. The unicorn looked back, judging her exit, and wondering how swift she could make an exit without being seen. She could even use her magic to pop out of there, but there would be a tell tale noise from it, which would be rude if the stallion realized what it was.

But when she looked back at Big Macintosh, he was looking right at her.

'Okay…' she thought to herself. 'Here we go.' Twilight Sparkle put a smile on her face and trotted up to Big Macintosh. "Good morning…again…Big Macintosh," she said. For some reason, her face felt hot.

"Hello, again, Miss Twilight."

"I'm sorry to bother you," she began, "But Pinkie Pie wanted to bring you and your family some baked goods for the holiday. She said she was going to have Rainbow Dash bring them, but forgot." Big Macintosh nodded as Twilight Sparkle used her magic to give the box of pastries to the stallion. Rather than taking the box, however, Big Macintosh opened it while the mare held it up, and looked inside.

"That's a lotta heart-shaped cookies there…"

"Is that what they are?" asked the unicorn, pulling the box away from the stallion to look inside. She tried to keep the embarrassment off of her face as she felt set up by the pink pony she called her friend. There were plenty of other cookies without a heart theme made in that bakery that morning, and she just happens to give her a box full of heart-shaped cookies? "Well, that's just wonderful," Twilight Sparkle said with a frown.

"Do you not like cookies, Miss Twilight?" asked the stallion.

"No, no," the unicorn smiled, closing the box and giving a nervous smile. "It's not that. It's just…I'm just remembering a conversation we had earlier today." In an attempt to change the subject, Twilight Sparkle looked to the cart. "I'm keeping you from your work."

"It's no problem," the stallion said. "Ah still have to wait for the last batch of pies from Granny Smith. The last one got ruined."

"Really? But Granny Smith is an excellent baker. I can't imagine she would mess up pies."

"Well," Big Macintosh started, leaning on his back legs as he looked up, remembering what had occurred. "When Applejack came back, she had Apple Bloom's friends with her, and they wanted to help Granny Smith with the cookin'. Now, Sweetie Belle might be able to bake up a pie, as she learned from Miss Rarity, but Scootaloo can't bake worth a lick. So Granny Smith told the three to leave her kitchen. In as nice a way as possible, mind you, but she did kick them out in the figurative of senses."

"I see," Twilight Sparkle said, a smile creeping across her face as she thought about the chaos that must have been in the kitchen not too long ago. "I wonder how they'd feel about the cookies."

"I reckon they'd like them just dandy," Big Macintosh said. "Iff'n your wantin' to give it to them, they're at the club house."

"Club house?"

"Applejack's old club house," he said, furrowing his eyebrows a little. "You ain't never…" he stopped what he was saying, going quiet. He seemed concerned at whatever thought interrupted his sentence.

"What?" asked Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, Ah was just mistakin' you fer another filly she used to play with," he said, turning around. "Ah would have Applejack show you where it is, but she just left with that pegasus friend of y'alls. Would you like me to show you?"

"As long as you don't mind giving them the cookies," Twilight Sparkle said, shrugging.

"They'd like sweets more than Ah would," he said. Wordlessly, he started off towards the club house, nodding his head so that Twilight Sparkle would know to follow.

* * *

><p>Applejack trotted along under Rainbow Dash, who was hovering in the air. She was unusually quiet as she looked around the orchard, as though she were searching for something. Frowning, the orange mare called up to her, "D'ya need help findin' somethin'? This is MAH farm, after all. Ah would probably know where it is."<p>

"No, no," Rainbow Dash said, landing next to the earth pony and folding up her wings. "Just getting my bearings."

Applejack had to admit – being on the farm for their little get together was comforting. She was close to home if the family needed her, yet there was so much space that they could spend as much time alone as they wanted.

That thought made Applejack wonder just what they would do with so much alone space. She felt her face get red.

"Something wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, nothing," Applejack said quickly. She picked up her pace. At this, the Pegasus picked up her pace, pulling just a little ahead of the earth pony. Applejack looked over at Rainbow Dash, then pulled just a little in front of her. When the Pegasus tried to pull forward again, Applejack went into a full sprint. "If it's a race you want!"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash went running alongside the mare, and the two were sprinting side by side down the dirt roads of the orange mare's orchard. Really, Applejack couldn't think of anything better than sprinting along side Rainbow Dash. At least, for that moment, she couldn't think of anything better. Just being with her company made her feel at ease, not having to think of everything that needed to be done on the farm. Like putting up the new fence after the sheep had knocked it down in a revolt against being herded rather than asked to be put in their pen. Or the Apple tree that needed to be brought down after Big Macintosh bucked it a little too hard. Or catching up on the every day chores that needed to be done around the farm.

"Applejack?"

Or even rooting the garden, so the weeds wouldn't suffocate the carrots. That needed to be done. Oh, and not to forget about the apples that the rabbits kept stealing. They still hadn't figured out how to get those little varmints to stop.

"Hey, Applejack!"

Oh, and the barrels they used for the cider needed to be put away for next season. Of course, there was the mill that Granny Smith was thinking of installing, and—

"Applejack!" Rainbow Dash flew down in front of Applejack and plopped herself a few yards in front of the running earth pony, causing her to startl. She skidded to a stop, but the momentum was more than either of the ponies had expected, and—

SLAM!

The next thing Applejack knew, she was sprawled out on the floor, Rainbow Dash groaning as she lay on top of her. It took the farmer a few moments to realize what happened, seeing as there were stars circling around her head that weren't there before. "What in the HAY was that all about?" Rainbow Dash asked. They lay stomach to stomach, Rainbow Dash laying across the orange mare.

"Wel—Ah…" She cringed at the thought. Here, she was supposed to be spending time with one of her best friends for the day, and all she could think about was work. Maybe she DID need a day off. "Mah mind was just wanderin', is all."

Rainbow Dash got up, then stood over the earth pony, who was still laying on her back. "Well, can we not do that again, please? I don't want to spend Heart's and Soul's Day in the hospital. Or unconscious." Looking up at the cyan Pegasus standing over her, Applejack felt herself starting to blush, though she wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe the slight embarrassment of having to be told to be careful from one of Equestria's most uncareful daredevils. Maybe the fact that the mare was standing over her like that. Maybe it was that moment of realization she had, which she would get every once in a while, that Rainbow Dash, while not usually showing it, actually cared a lot for her.

Noticing Applejack's silence or staring, Rainbow Dash pulled back, looked away, and extended a hoof. Applejack took the hoof and helped herself up. They shared an awkward moment as Rainbow Dash allowed herself to look at the earth pony and smile. Applejack gave a nervous chuckle. "So," said the orange mare.

"Right," Rainbow Dash said, clearing her throat. "I was trying to tell you that we needed to turn. Now, I'm not exactly sure where that was anymore…unless you want to keep running, because we can do that, too."

"Nah, it's alright," Applejack said, trying to play off how she felt at that moment. "Ah'm a might curious where you're takin' me."

"Alright, then," Rainbow Dash said, smiling. "Follow _me,_ this time," she said with a tone of seriousness. Applejack smiled and nodded.

* * *

><p>After a few twists and turns in part of the farm Applejack would only see occasionally – mostly during applebuck season – the two mares finally ended up at the top of one of the hills on Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash took some leaping bounds forward, before extending a hoof and saying, "Ta-da!"<p>

Applejack couldn't help but smile at what she saw. Just past the last two apple trees on top of the hill, near a shallow cliff, a picnic blanket had been laid out, with a basket full of food, some flowers decorating the area, and a box she recognized from Sugar Cube Corner, which most likely contained baked goods in them. "Well, Ah'll be," Applejack said, letting out a soft chuckle. "Ah gotta admit, Rainbow, this seems a little…" She didn't want to say 'romantic', but how else could she describe it?

"Girly?" Rainbow Dash asked, filing in the blank. She squirmed uncomfortable, putting a hoof to her head. "Well, I thought it would be good for the holiday. You know…festive. Is it too much? You don't like it, do you?"

"No, Ah love it!" Applejack said with a conviction that surprised even herself. "Ah mean…" Trying to pull back her excited statement, the pony just hoped she didn't dissolve into stuttering. But really, there was no use trying anymore. "This is wonderful, Rainbow."

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked, smiling broadly. "I was worried about how you would take to it…I mean, it's like you said, but…" She stopped what she was saying, instead putting out a hoof to invite Applejack to sit down. The orange mare took a seat on the blanket, and looked to Rainbow Dash expectantly. "You know, you work here all the time, but I bet even you don't know how awesome your farm is. Look at this few, for instance!"

Applejack looked at the view. It just looked like her farm….she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking at. Rainbow Dash sat near the mare, looking out over the orchard and the valley beyond it. "I know you get mad at me when I sleep in your trees," she said, "or wonder how it can be comfortable, but come on. Look at this view. And you hear that? Aside from the occasional birds, no noise!"

"Rainbow, you live in clouds. In the sky. How noisy can it get?"

"I live near a cloud city. CITY. Things can get noisy up there. But this is my favorite spot. Because just after I get my practice in, or if I've had a hard day, I can come right up here and just…" She trailed off as she looked at Applejack, who raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Ah'm just surprised, is all," she said. "Not like you to get so…"

"Sappy?"

"Nah, that's not sappy," Applejack said. "More like…thoughtful."

"Well, I'm not exactly quoting philosophy, here," Rainbow Dash said, folding her front legs over her chest. "I just thought I'd let you know. I mean, it's your farm, and all, but you don't enjoy it."

"Ah enjoy doin' a hard days work," Applejack said defensively.

"Sure, AJ," Rainbow Dash said dismissively. "But I thought you might want to spend a little less time being the hard working earth pony, and be a little more Pegasus!"

Applejack jerked back at the comparison. "What does bein' a Pegasus have to do with being up here right now?"

"Well," Rainbow Dash said, emphatically spreading her forearms to point to the scene before her. "If you can't appreciate this, there's something wrong with you."

"Well!" Applejack said, getting up, feeling insulted. "Ah can appreciate it just fine! It IS mah farm, afterall! And who are you ta be sayin' that Ah don't appreciate mah own farm."

"I'm not SAYING that you can't appreciate your own farm," Rainbow Dash said, now standing up, herself. "I'm SAYING you can't appreciate it for what it is! It's just a job to you! All you do all day is work here."

Now they were squaring off, practically head butting each other. "It's a FARM! Do you know how much work goes into keepin' a farm runnin'? Of course I work here all day! Ah can't stop and look at the scenery! At…" She looked out over the view they had from where they were. "At all this. See all those apples on those trees? Hard work went into makin' sure they grow up healthy and ripe for pickin'! And you see…" She looked over the scenery some more, trying to find another example of what kind of work went into the farm, but she couldn't see anything. They were facing away from the main part of the farm near the house. Just beyond the dirt roads that helped them to get around, she could see valleys, birds flying around, deer in the plains area, bushes and trees in the distance, all at the base of a purple mountain that jutted up toward the sky, with snow capping its peak. The skies were clear, but for a few Pegasi playing in the open air.

Applejack had lost her original train of thought, and for a moment, looking off in the distance, felt less like an earth pony standing in a farm she worked hard at, and thought she must be seeing what a pony like Rainbow Dash saw every day of her life – pure, unadulterated freedom. It was a nice feeling.

Looking back to Rainbow Dash, the pony was sitting down, smiling to herself as she watched the change in Applejack's demeanor. She was chewing on something from the box she had opened. "You see?" she said after swallowing her bite. She pushed the box towards the mare. "Tart?"

Applejack looked down at the contents of the box. Heart-shaped apple tarts. Seeing those, in combination with the feeling she had from finding a new appreciation for this spot Rainbow Dash had picked out, the orange mare couldn't help herself. "Aw, Rainbow Dash, Ah could just kiss you."

Realizing what she said, Applejack looked over to Rainbow Dash, who's mouth was open, stopped in the middle of taking another bite of her apple tart. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the farmer in disbelief. "Er," Applejack said, looking away. "But ah won't."

They barely said anything to each other for a while. But Applejack noticed that Rainbow Dash put down her pastry, and didn't seem keen on taking another bite any time soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3 – Mid-Morning_**

Twilight Sparkle and Big Macintosh walked through the orchard in relative silence. Sure, Twilight had tried talking to the stallion, but his habit of mono-syllabic responses made conversation difficult, to say the least. She had read in a book, once, that in order to get a lively conversation going with somepony else who is potentially shy or uninterested in spending time with another pony, one might try to talk about something they were interested in. But the only thing Twilight knew about Big Macintosh was that he was Applejack and Apple Bloom's brother, and he farmed apples.

Not much to go on.

"So…do you and your sisters get along well?" asked the mare.

"Eeyup."

"No major fights or anything?"

"Eenope."

"Really? Because I would think that every once in a while, you guys would fight about something."

"Eenope."

"Not even teasing?"

"Well…" At this change in wording, Twilight Sparkle skipped a step. She smiled from ear to ear. He was finally going to say something with substance! "There's always teasin' among siblings." She waited. But he didn't go into detail.

The mare couldn't hold back a sigh. "No examples?"

The stallion lifted his head up, raising his eyes to the sky, deep in thought as he chewed on the piece of hay hanging out of his mouth. After a few moments of watching him carefully, Twilight saw a smile spread across his face. Then he said, "Eenope."

"Uh-what?" said the mare. "But what was that look you just had?"

"Just rememberin'," he said. "Hard to explain. Plus, Ah don't think Applejack would appreciate me tellin' you all this."

"All this? You haven't told me _anything_!" Twilight Sparkle huffed. Big Macintosh stopped and stared at the mare. She shrunk down a little under his confused gaze. "Sorry. I'm just…having a long day."

"You sure you're okay, Miss Twilight?" he asked, genuinely concerned by her outburst.

"No. I mean, yes. I spent the whole morning with Pinkie Pie. I guess I'm just a little wound up."

"If your wantin'," said the stallion, "Ah can take these mahself to Apple Bloom and her friends, and you can go home and rest."

"It's alright, Big Macintosh," Twilight said, resuming her walk, which encouraged the stallion to walk along with him. "We're almost there, as it is."

After walking a few more minutes in painful silence, the two ponies found themselves in front of the club house the mare had heard so much about. But there wasn't a crusader to be found.

Big Macintosh frowned. "Too quiet," he said.

"I was thinking the same thing," Twilight said. "Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Are you in there?" She trotted up the ramp to check inside the window and see if they were (hopefully) playing a quiet game and just too engrossed in it to hear anything else. Or, ideally, were so enthralled in reading, they didn't want to answer. But upon looking inside the club house, there was no such luck. No pony could be seen.

Just as Twilight turned to tell this to Big Macintosh, somepony yelled, "CHARGE!" and the three little fillies they had been looking for came running out from behind a tree, screaming war cries as they charged toward the large stallion.

"Grab his leg, Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom called as she, herself, wrapped herself around her brother's left foreleg.

"Got him!" Sweetie Belle said, grabbing the stallion's left back leg. "Take him down, Scootaloo!"

The little Pegasus charged up her wings, and managed to lift a few feet off the ground, launching herself into Big Macintosh's left side, before bouncing off and landing on the ground.

The stallion let out a sigh, glancing over to the unicorn mare, before looking down at his sister clasped around his leg. The little earth pony gave the biggest, roundest eyes she could muster, before saying, "Aw, come on, Big Macintosh!"

After another sigh, the stallion slowly lowered himself to the ground, laying his head down, as though he were defeated. "Ya got me," he said.

"Yay!" Apple Bloom said, standing on top of her brother's side, turning to her two friends. "We're victorious, once again!"

"Pshh," Scootaloo said, waving a hoof, "After that awesome charge I gave, how could we NOT take down the monster?"

"Maybe next time," piped in Sweetie Belle, "I can use some of the magic my mom's been trying to teach me." She poked at the stallion's leg. "Is fur flammable?"

At this, Big Macintosh sat back up, furrowing his brows at the unicorn filly. Apple Bloom rolled off her brother's side and lay on her back, looking up at her friends.

Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but start laughing. "Uh, maybe you should wait until you have better control of your magic, Sweetie Belle."

Apple Bloom got up, looked at her brother, looked up at the unicorn mare, and smiled. "What are you two doin' together?"

"Delivering cookies," Twilight Sparkle said, louder than she had intended. She knew where this was going. "Cookies for you, from Pinkie."

"Aw, sweet!" Scootaloo raced over to Twilight Sparkle, who was carrying the box on her back.

"I love cookies!" Sweetie Belle said, following Scootaloo, Apple Bloom trailing behind. Big Macintosh slowly got back up, shaking the dirt off his coat.

"Alright," Twilight said, looking into the box, then down at the three fillies. "Hmm. There are thirteen cookies in here. Why do I always get a baker's dozen?" The mare eyed the box warily, looking from the fillies, to the stallion, back to the box. "Okay, if we give the girls each four cookies they can eat throughout the day, that leaves one left over for Big Mac, and we should be all set! I mean, he DID say the girls would like the cookies more than he would…"

With that, she lifted up three sets of four cookies with her magic, giving them to each of the girls. "Here you are," she said, trotting past the girls and down the ramp, one cookie left for the stallion.

"That's alright," he said.

"Oh, no, I insist."

"It ain't right if I get a cookie and you don't," he said.

"But the cookies were sent to the Apple family, not me," Twilight said. "You should have the last cookie."

"Ah don't feel right leavin' you with none."

Twilight laughed nervously. "But you see, if you don't eat the last cookie, then that will make things uneven. I already gave the girls four cookies each. If I gave it back to them, then they might fight over the cookie."

"We won't fight!" Scootaloo said. The lavender mare looked back to see the three fillies leaning over the edge of the guardrail, watching the conversation with fascination. "I can take the cookie!"

"Scootaloo, that's not nice!" Apple Bloom said. "What if Ah wanted the cookie?" To Twilight, she said, "I still have my cookies. We can split them up again if you want."

"Uh…" Sweetie Belle put a hoof over her mouth. "I already ate all of mine."

"See?" the mare said, looking back to the stallion. "There's no turning back now. You HAVE to have the cookie. There's just no other way."

Big Macintosh looked to the side, a bemused smile adorning his face. "We could split the cookie."

Twilight Sparkle took a step back. That wasn't even an option in her book. Behind her, she heard the three fillies "ooooh!" at the same time. The mare took a second to consider this, before shaking her head. "No, no, no, but I couldn't. It's not my cookie. Here!" Big Macintosh opened his mouth to say something, and just then, Twilight used her magic to shove the cookie into his mouth. The stallion's eyes opened wide. He was forced to chew, lest he choke on the whole thing.

The momentary satisfaction in having properly dispersed the cookies was dispelled by the look the mare was receiving from the stallion. It wasn't a good one. Annoyance with a touch of anger, maybe? She took a few steps back, laughed nervously, then turned to the three fillies, who were whispering to themselves about something. "SO!" she said loudly, trying desperately not to look at the earth pony to her right. "Do you girls know the story of Heart and Soul's Day?"

"Ah think Granny Smith mentioned it to me a while ago," Apple Bloom said, thinking for a second.

"And they told us in school last year," Sweetie Belle.

"Told YOU, maybe. I wasn't paying attention to some sappy love story," Scootaloo said.

"I'd like to hear it again!" the unicorn filly said, guessing where the mare was going with her question.

"Oh, that'd be great!" Apple Bloom said, following Sweetie Belle down the ramp. "Come on, Scootaloo!"

The little orange Pegasus groaned. "Do I HAVE to?"

"You know, Scootaloo," said Twilight, "it's not just a love story. There's feuding between the tribes, too."

"Really?" At hearing that, Scootaloo joined her friends near the unicorn mare, looking up anxiously to hear the story.

"Well," Twilight Sparkle began, "It all started back when Equestria was new. The three tribes still had difficulty getting along in some remote areas of the land, and some were even said to have come to blows."

"I'm liking this story already," Scootaloo said, taking a seat.

"One of these areas," Twilight continued, "housed two villages: one earth pony village and one Pegasus village, not unlike Ponyville and Cloudsdale. In the earth pony village lived a mare who tended to roses, named Rosy Heart; and in the cloud village, lived a weather pony stallion, Gentle Soul. The Pegasus would fly over the earth pony's garden and watch with curiosity as the mare tended to her flowers. One day, he flew down to see up close what Rosy was doing. This, of course, startled the earth pony, but he assured her that he meant her no harm. He had just never seen what an earth pony could do, or how they could grow such beautiful things from the earth.

"The mare was equally impressed by the weather pony, as there was no way she could move the clouds or make the day sunny and warm. For weeks, the two would meet every day to talk about what their lives were like, both fascinated with the workings of earth pony and Pegasus pony. Then one day, they both realized they had fallen in love."

"Awww!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sighed.

"Yech," Scootaloo said, folding her forelegs. "Where's the action." Twilight heard a soft chuckle to her right. She glanced over to see the earth stallion was listening to the story, too. Thankful that he didn't look upset anymore, the unicorn breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"Gentle came down to the earth pony village every day, and Rosy would give him a rose to symbolize their love. And for that time, they were happy.

"But two ponies from different tribes simply did not fall in love. It hadn't been done before as far as anypony knew. So it was of no consequence to the town elders what would happen to the couple when the tension between the two tribes became formidable, and they decided to separate all relations between earth ponies and Pegasus ponies. The lovers didn't know how to stay together when their villages wanted to keep divided. Gentle couldn't risk coming down to visit his love anymore, and Rosy couldn't fly to meet with her love in a safe place that wasn't earth pony territory.

"The two ponies were devastated. They had finally learned of what it was like to be in love, and now they were forced to be separate. But rather than be angry, the two found ways to share their love with one another, even when the sky was separating them."

"Oooh, this is the good part," Sweetie Belle said.

"Is there a sword fight?" Scootaloo asked, sitting up straight, perking her ears forward to listen intently.

"Better," Twilight Sparkle said. "Rather than resort to violence," the mare paused as the Pegasus filly groaned, "they used their unique gifts to express their love. Every night, as the sun was going down, Gentle Soul would create a breathtaking sunset in the sky for his love. And every day, Rosy Heart would hand out specially cultivated roses for the town's ponies. With such public displays of affection, other ponies took notice, and word spread of why they were graced with a beautiful sunset every night, and given such lovely roses during the day.

"Word of the lovers spread to the town elders, who decided to meet again to discus their situation, and the separation between the two tribes. Things were rocky, and a pursuit of harmony seemed shaky, if not near impossible. But when talks were finished, the earth pony village and the Pegasus village agreed to allow their citizens to interact once again. Despite things being so tense between the tribes when they first separated, the ponies in each village were so moved by the tale of the two lovers, they were joyous to know that the two tribes would come together, again!"

The unicorn filly and earth pony filly cooed at hearing this. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but Apple Bloom pulled her close for a hug as she leaned in close to hear the end of the story.

"They held a celebration that very night in the earth pony village. Pegasi were finally allowed to come down on earth pony territory and mingle with their pony brethren. Rather than the tense atmosphere they once had, the two tribes were now joyous to see one another and talk about what went on in their villages – it was the most excitement they had in quite a while.

"The villagers lined the streets with the same rose petals given to them by Rosy. As both villages watched, the lovers raced to each other down the dirt paths. And once they met, they shared a long awaited kiss. Both worlds seemed to fade away as the two ponies embraced. They were not only allowed to be together again, but through their actions, managed to bring two feuding villages together. So we celebrate this day to commemorate the actions of Rosy Heart and Gentle Soul, and remind us that love can be a powerful tool that unites all of us together."

"That was sooo sweet!" Sweetie Belle said. The Pegasus filly, who looked unamused, raised her hoof.

"Yes, Scootaloo?" asked Twilight.

"So, let me get this straight," she said. "These two ponies were sooo interesting that the two villages wanted to watch them get back together again? Who does that?"

"Well," the mare said, slightly annoyed at Scootaloo's lack of fascination with the story. "Times were different back then. They didn't have entertainment the way we did, or even time off from work their hard work. They had to work a lot harder and longer just to live comfortably. Sitting down to read a book was near impossible for most ponies, so most stories were passed along by word of mouth back then. Hearing about two star-crossed lovers was like reading a good book to the tribe's ponies. Except, in this case, the situation was real. The celebration was like reading the happy ending at the end of the book to those villagers."

"Isn't it kind of creepy?" Scootaloo asked. "Having all those ponies watch you kiss your love after all that time?"

"I'm sure at the moment, they didn't care," Twilight Sparkle said. "I wouldn't know. I've never been in love. But I've read some ponies describe kissing the one you love can have that effect on you."

"Whatever," Scootaloo said, getting up and turning around. "What's a story without a little blood shed or action, anyway? Maybe we can find Rainbow Dash and make something out of today. She went running in that direction, right?"

Big Macintosh, who had quietly been listening to everything, frowned to Scootaloo. "You should leave those two be. They're wantin' to spend the day together, alone."

"Awww," the three fillies said.

"I wonder how many cookies I have left," Scootaloo said, trudging past the two adult ponies and back to the club house, the other two fillies following her.

"That was a mighty fine story, Miss Twilight," Big Macintosh said, stepping up next to the unicorn. "The way you tell it, that is."

"Thank you," she said, smiling. "Listen…I'm sorry for earlier. I don't mean to get so crazy about having everything just right. Everypony else puts up with me all the time, I forget how crazy I must sound to other ponies, sometimes. And, er…how I act around them."

"It's alright," he said. "When you live around Applejack and Apple Bloom, ya get used to a lil' crazy."

Twilight chuckled lightly at the thought. She could only wonder what their family dynamic was like, or how different the two sisters acted when not around their friends. "I wonder how Applejack would react to you saying she's a little crazy."

"She don't like it much," he admitted.

"Oh, so you tell her that on an everyday basis?"

"She gotta hear it somewhere," he said, giving a gentle smile.

"I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Rarity probably tell her a few times, too," the mare said.

"Well, she's not hearin' it right from them," he said. "She still acts that way."

The mare looked over to where the cutie mark crusaders were supposed to be, only to notice they were gone. "Where did they go this time? I doubt they expect to get the element of surprise again…" the lavender unicorn trotted up the ramp to look into the club house. "Huh…I thought they just went in here."

"Oh…" The mare turned to the stallion, who looked off to the trail that led to the main dirt road. "Applejack's not gunna like that…"

Twilight Sparkle made her way back down the ramp. "You don't mean that they went after Rainbow Dash like they said they were going to?"

"Eeryup."

"But…" unsure of how much Big Macintosh knew, she was reluctant to finish her statement. "Well, I don't know about AJ, but Rainbow sure isn't going to like that…"

"Eenope…" Big Macintosh started towards the trail. "C'mon…'fore they ruin their date." Twilight Sparkle cringed at the fact that the stallion knew. Then she smiled that he cared enough to keep it from being ruined.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4 - Noon**_

Pinkie Pie was skipping through town, humming a merry tune. The bakery had actually sold out of most of their pastries – and rather than scramble to make more, the Cakes decided they wanted to spend their first holiday as parents with their babies. So after they sold out of baked goods, the earth pony was off the hook for the rest of the day. She trotted along until she saw Fluttershy sitting near a fountain, looking at her own reflection, looking depressed.

In the blink of an eye, Pinkie was by her side, a huge smile across her face. "Hi, Fluttershy!" she said with her usual jovial voice. "Mind if I join you?" But there was no point in asking. She knew the Pegasus would say yes, and that she would take a seat without receiving an answer, so she just sat down, and looked at the petals floating in the fountain. "They're sooo pretty! Next time I take a bath, I'm putting rose petals in them! Is that good for you, to put rose petals in a bath? Or can you break out in hives or something?"

"No, I think it's a good thing," Fluttershy said.

"Then I'm doing it!" the pony said with more conviction. "I wonder if I can exchange the rose petals with sprinkles…" She trailed off when she saw the yellow mare was hardly paying attention. "What is it, Flutters? Is it Angel? Is he okay?"

"The vet said he's fine," the mare said. "But they told me to go out and enjoy the holiday. I think they didn't want me waiting in the waiting room. If I didn't know any better, I would say that they kicked me out for asking about Angel too much. But that would be mean to assume such a thing. What am I supposed to do? I'm so worried…"

"But they told you he was going to be okay, right?"

"Well, yes," Fluttershy admitted, putting a hoof to her mouth as she thought back. "They have him on fluids and he was resting comfortably. Or so they said. They told me he should be fine to take home by tomorrow."

"Well, that's good, then, right?" Pinkie Pie said, smiling brightly enough for the both of them. "You can spend the holiday with me, and pick up Angel good as new tomorrow! Come on, Fluttershy! We can have soo much fun! It will be like a date! But not really. But it COULD be! We should go on a date!" Pinkie Pie started clapping her hooves as the idea came to her.

"On a date?" Fluttershy said, her former concern now replaced by confusion. Then the confusion turned to fear. "A date? I've never been on a date before…what do ponies on a date do? Don't they…" Her voice got really low. "Kiss?"

"Oh, silly," Pinkie Pie said, bopping the Pegasus on the nose. "It doesn't have to be a _real_ date – we're both friends! And since we don't have dates for tonight, we could be each other's unofficial dates. So we don't have to be a couple, but we can be a couple of ponies out to have fun! Oh, it will be so great!" The mare clapped her hooves together again. "We can do all types of things ponies on dates during the Hearts and Soul's Festival do, but without the pressure of being a couple! We could go all out! What do you say, Fluttershy? You in?"

"Well," said the mare. "That does sound like it could be fun…but what could we do?"

Pinkie put her hoof to her mouth, furrowing her brow in thought. Then a light bulb lit over her head. "I know! We can go to Canterlot!"

"Oh, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, shaking her head. "That sounds so expensive."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it! I've been babysitting so much lately, I haven't had time for parties! I know, huh? Shocking!" said the mare, though the Pegasus didn't react to the news at all. "But it's amazing how much money you can save by not throwing parties! This will be like a whole bunch of parties thrown into one! And it's for you and me, today. No other ponies allowed. Oooh, like a _secret_ party, or something. What do you think? It'll be my treat since it's my idea! That's the only way you're invited to this secret party. Sounds fun, huh?"

With Pinkie Pie smiling broadly at her, Fluttershy seemed to forget her troubles earlier and slowly digest the idea of a day in Canterlot with one of her best friends. "Okay, Pinkie," the mare said softly, trying to match the pink mare's excitement. "That sounds lovely."

"ALRIGHT!" the earth pony nearly screeched, making everyone near the fountain turn to look at her.

* * *

><p>Rarity followed her client out the doors of her apartment and onto the streets, which was brimming with activity for the holiday. While the unicorn loved Heart's and Soul's Day, she was very unhappy with how her day was unraveling. The client, a high class unicorn pony that held her nose so high, she would drown when it rains, stood outside wearing the cobalt blue dress, looking herself over in the mirror that Rarity carried out using her magic. "See, in the light," the white unicorn began, "you can see how the color really works with your fur color. And the earrings I picked out really bring attention to your beautiful eyes." She smiled a weary smile.<p>

"I still say it's too dark," the client said in her posh voice. "How are ponies going to notice me tonight at the garden party if they can't see me?"

"Well, it's a color that works well for you. You see, if I were to go with brighter colors, then you would stand out too much, or it simply would not match your coat color," Rarity explained. "You did say you wanted to be understated, but dazzling. I think-"

"Yes, I know what you think," said the client, turning around in the mirror. "If I decide to take this dress - and that' a great big 'if'– then I'm going to need some alterations before tonight. This stitching is absolutely deplorable, and the shape of the neck is completely unflattering! Of course, you will have to take off at least half the price! We're cutting it far too close to the event. And I have things to do! This is cutting into my festival day."

Rarity bit her lip as she held back to torrent of words she wanted to attack the mare with, like how she was missing out on a festival day, too, due to the client's incompetence in figuring out how to order a dress in time, and she would be damned if she took one single bit off the price of the dress because she felt inconvenienced by her own deplorable attitude. No, she bit it back. But just barely.

"I knew I shouldn't have hired somepony from Ponyville, or all places," said the client. "How can anything with an eye for fashion come from a backwater like that?"

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW-," Rarity started, her voice almost screeching. But she didn't get to finish her statement, as a pony swooped in between her and her client, his back towards Rarity.

"Dear, I must say, you have really outdone yourself for this Festival!" It took Rarity a few moments to realize that Fancy Pants had come from out of nowhere and stopped the near-fight she was about to get in. "That dress looks magnificent! Why, if I didn't know any better, I would think you were getting your dress ready for the gala!"

Stunned, the client gave a half-witted stare to the stallion, before realizing she was expected to answer. "Oh? Oh, yes! I just had it delivered, and we were trying it on for any final retouches."

"Well, far be it for me to say," the stallion said, "but I've been around many dresses in my day, so I think I would know a thing or two about them. And this is perfection. I wouldn't allow anypony to do a thing to it! But that's just my opinion. I'm not sure how much you want to trust the opinion of a stallion to that of a mare."

"No, no," the mare said. "I think you're quite right. This dress really is magnificent. Come, Rarity, let's see about getting you paid and on your way."

"Y-yes," Rarity said. The client walked past her, and the white unicorn stood there, dumbfounded as to what had just happened. Fancy Pants turned and smiled at her. "I…I don't know how to thank you," she said.

"Well, you looked like you were in trouble," the stallion replied. "I wouldn't keep her waiting too long, though. Do you think you'll be long?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Well, I'll be at the corner café for when you're done. Do come see me after you've finished. We have a lot to catch up on!" Fancy Pants gave her a wink before trotting off to the café. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, before turning and following her client back into her apartment.

* * *

><p>Once outside again, properly paid for the dress she slaved over, Rarity smiled to herself, wanting to fall asleep right on the street if she could. Shaking her head, she remembered Fancy Pants' offer to meet her at the café. The unicorn quickly looked at her reflection in the window, looking around quickly to see if anypony was looking, then taking out a brush to fix all the stray hairs. After her hair looked more presentable, she took out her make up and freshened up her face as quickly as she could.<p>

After an inspection, she figured she look better, but didn't want to keep the stallion waiting. Holding her head up proudly, she made her way to the café, where the stallion was sitting on one of the outside tables.

He looked up just as she was coming to have a seat. "Oh, lovely," he said. "I was beginning to wonder if you had gotten out alive! Or if she had, by the looks of things. You looked ready to strangle her."

Rarity let out a laugh as she sat down. "I would apologize for my behavior, but I'm actually sorry I didn't do more. I can't thank you enough for stepping in. I was seconds away from destroying my name to all of Canterlot!"

"That mare is really something. You're not the first to get frustrated with her. While I would have loved to have seen her get a good tongue lashing, I simply couldn't let her get to you like that."

"I am truly grateful, really," Rarity said again. "If there is any way at all I can make it up to you…"

Fancy Pants smiled. "Well, if you put it like that…how would you like to be my date for today?"

Rarity had a smile stained on her face while she considered what had just been said. Fancy Pants was asking her out on a date? A DATE? What's more, for Hearts and Soul's Day? While she had always felt she had a connection with him, and admired him (not only for his status, but the way he carried himself even while being surrounded by a bunch of uptight sycophants), she had never considered dating him. Not that he wasn't handsome or she wasn't interested, but she just assumed he was taken.

"Uh-I-er-froo," was all Rarity managed to get out at first. She laughed nervously, taking up the tea that had been set down for her using her magic and taking a sip. It gave her a moment to collect herself before trying again. "…what about Fleur?"

"Well, I would assume she has a date for tonight, as well," he said, no change in his demeanor whatsoever.

That was something Rarity always felt odd about. She had trouble reading the stallion. He often had that gentle smile on his face, which made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. Still, she never felt ill will from him, and she had always appreciated how nicely he treated her friends. "Well, then" said the mare, returning to her composed self. "I would love to!"

* * *

><p>Applejack laughed as she threw piece of bread at Rainbow Dash's head. "That's just silly," she said. They were halfway through their Hearts and Souls Day lunch, but the meal took place very slowly as they kept interrupting each other with a new topic. "In what situation would mutant apples attack Ponyville?"<p>

"If there can be zombie ponies, there can be mutant apples!" Rainbow Dash said, committed to her train of thought. "And there are more apples than ponies!"

"D'you wanna know what a mutant apple looks like?" Applejack got up and walked over to the nearest apple tree. She bucked just hard enough so that a few of the apples fell, then looked around at the fallen fruit. She picked one up with her teeth and tossed it to the Pegasus, who in turn yelped and kicked it back before even looking at it.

"You mean mutant apples exist?" she asked, curling her legs up close to her.

"Just look at the dern thing," she said again, kicking the fruit back over to her. It was malformed, and growing two apples out of one stem.

"Well, how in the hay is this supposed to attack anypony?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the odd-looking produce.

"Exactly," Applejack said, lying back down. "Mutant apples are ridiculous. Ah just don't understand why you have to turn mah apples in mutant, pony-killin' monsters in that head of yours!"

"Says the pony who made the citizens of Ponyville into the living dead," said the Pegasus, turning onto her back and balancing the mutant apple on her hoof. "Anyways, I just said the mutant apples thing to annoy you. The only real monster I would be afraid of is…" She thought for a moment. "Hmm. I don't know."

"Ya wouldn't be scared a zombies?" Applejack asked.

"Nah, I'm faster than any zombie could ever be," she said, tossing the apple into the air before hitting it with her hoof. It flew to her right and rolled down the shallow cliff. "What would I have to be afraid of?"

"Well, maybe you're not afraid with your wings," said the earth pony, "but us land-locked ponies would have one doozy of a tussle in store."

"Aw, AJ, I would never leave you behind to face off all those zombies," Rainbow Dash said, turning to her side and looking to the mare. "I would take you with me." The orange mare turned her head to the side, frowning. "What?"

"And the others?"

"Well, yeah!" the Pegasus said, getting up, rubbing a hoof to her head. "I would help them, too, of course! What do you take me for?" The cyan mare allowed herself to give a side glance to Applejack. The earth pony just looked, one eyebrow raised. "Okay, well, I would have to save you first, since now I know how terrified you are of zombi—you know what? This is a silly conversation. Why are we having it?"

"'Cause you started it!" Applejack said, pointing a hoof at the mare.

"Well, why are we listening to MY ideas?" Rainbow Dash said, tossing her front hooves in the air. "I already thought up coming up here. You should have an idea now."

Applejack rolled her eyes and shook her head, before lying down on her side. "Ah didn't know you could max out all your good ideas in one mornin'."

"Hey!" the mare nudged the earth pony with her hoof. "That's not what I meant."

Applejack smiled. "Ah know, Ah'm just teasin' ya." Looking at each other, the Pegasus smiled and lay down next to the earth pony. "Alright," she said. "Ah think I know of somethin'…"

"What's that?"

"What's it like to fly?"

"Awesome," came Rainbow Dash's automatic answer, a goofy smile on her face as she drifted to the thoughts of flying. "Why? Jealous?"

"Nah," Applejack said, waving off a hoof. "Figure if Ah was born without wings, Ah was probably never meant to let my hooves get too far off the ground."

"You could let them get a _little_ off the ground," Rainbow Dash said, smiling down at the earth pony. She spread her wings momentarily for emphasis.

"How do you fi'ger Ah could do that?" she asked, suddenly aware of the position she was in: lying on the ground, alone with the Pegasus lying right up against her, looking down at her.

"I could show you," the mare said, leaning closer.

"…Ah….ah don't have wings, remember?" she said softly, their lips getting closer.

"There's more than one way to fly, Applejack…" For a moment, they looked intensely into each others eyes, before the two closed them, coming closer, until-

"There is?" asked a voice behind them.

Applejack's eyes shot open as she rolled over and got back onto her hooves. Rainbow Dash somehow managed to shoot herself into the air, and was now hovering in place, looking back at their interruption.

Scootaloo was standing there, flanked by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, looking up at Rainbow Dash with keen interest. "How can you fly without wings?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash let out a huff of air, before landing hard on the ground. "We'll never know, now!" she said, annoyance plain in her voice.

"Apple Bloom," Applejack said with an admonishing tone. "What are y'all doin' here? Ah thought y'all were gunna help out Granny Smith with the baked goods this mornin'?"

"We were," Apple Bloom said. "Until Scootaloo decided to help."

The Pegasus filly huffed. "How was I supposed to know that the pies wouldn't bake twice as fast if I put them in the oven at twice the heat?"

Rainbow Dash sat down on the ground next to Applejack, looking the three fillies over. "I tried to do that, once. Nearly burned down my parent's house." She laughed to herself. "Good times."

"What are y'all doin'?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Talkin'," Applejack responded.

"Bought flyin'?"

"Apple Bloom, how many times do Ah gotta tell you, don't listen in on mah conversations! Big ponies talk about different things than little ponies."

"Ah'm not that little!" Apple Bloom whined. "Just because I'm littler than ya'll-"

"Oh, brother," Rainbow Dash moaned.

"-don't mean I don't know what big ponies talk about!"

"Are you talkin' back to your big sister?" said the orange mare. "Do Ah have to tell Big Macintosh on you, again?"

"You know, you're not the only one who can tell on somepony!" Apple Bloom said, lifting her head up tall, smiling as though she had won the fight.

"What are you talkin' bout?" Applejack asked, narrowing her eyes at her little sister. She saw her sister's eyes shift to Rainbow Dash, and back. Suddenly realizing what she meant, the orange mare's eyes widened. "Apple Bloom," she said warningly.

"What? What is it? Why did she look at me?" Rainbow Dash asked, both confused and excited by the prospect at the same time.

"It's nothin'!" Applejack said, her smile too wide and toothy as she looked at Rainbow Dash. Then back to her sister, "Why don'cha just go and play with your friends, Apple Bloom," she said in a low voice.

"What? Something about me?" Rainbow Dash asked, smiling hopefully.

"Have you ever been in Applejack's roo—" The little filly was cut off when her sister shoved an apple in her mouth.

"Nothin' at all!" she said loudly, smiling nervously back to Rainbow Dash. "It's just a room. Kids these days…"

The Pegasus had a mischievous smile on her face. Applejack's face fell when she realized what was about to happen. "So, then, you wouldn't mind if I go check it out, now, would you?"

"Actually," the orange mare began to say, but in a burst of rainbow colors, the Pegasus mare was gone. "Rain—Rainbow!" She leapt to her feet, calling after the mare, "If you go into mah, room, Ah—"

"I don't think she can hear you," Scootaloo said, watching with a broad smile on her face as she watched the speck that was Rainbow Dash disappear.

"Consarnit!" The orange mare yelled, before rushing past the three fillies and towards her house.

* * *

><p>Big Macintosh craned his neck, looking around the apple orchard, while Twilight Sparkle called out for the individual fillies. "Apple Bloom? Scootaloo? Sweetie Belle? Where are you?"<p>

"There ain't much we can do, now," Big Macintosh said, shaking his head. "We tried. Ah have to get back so Ah can sell at market."

Twilight shook her head. "Those three are always getting into something. Well, at least this time, it shouldn't be anything dangerous." She turned to look at the stallion, who furrowed his brow in thought. "What?"

"Have y'ever seen mah sister mad?"

"Well," the mare said, smiling softly. "I meant dangerous in the, 'staring down a cockatrice and being turned to stone' sense of the word." The earth pony still seemed unconvinced. "Oh, I'm sure she's not that bad."

Just then, a flash of colors flew past, nearly knocking Twilight Sparkle over. She looked up to see the rainbow blur skid to a halt, before flying back over to the stallion and mare. Rainbow Dash looked at the two, confused. "W…what in the hay are you doing here?"

"Uh," the unicorn said, feeling her face get red. She suddenly remembered the conversation they had earlier, and wondered if she was in trouble. "Well, Apple Bloom and her friends wandered off to find you, and Big Macintosh didn't want them to mess up-"

The Pegasus put up a hoof to stop her. "They've already done that." Turning to the stallion, she waved a hoof nonchalantly. "Hey, Big Mac…" Then her eyes went wide with an idea. "HEY! Big Mac!" the mare said, landing in front of the stallion. "I don't suppose you know anything about something AJ is hiding in her room that has to do with me, do you?"

Twilight Sparkle noticed a smile flicker on the stallion's face. But before he could say anything, they could hear yelling in the distance. An orange blur was running towards them, yelling something that the unicorn could only assume was some sort of veiled threat.

"Uh-oh," Rainbow Dash said, hovering in the air again. To the stallion, she asked, "Do you, do you?"

"Well," the stallion began, "Ah'm sure Ah know nothin' about no box hidden in her closet underneath her blankets."

Rainbow Dash smiled, taking a glance back, before nudging the earth pony with her hoof. "I like your style, Big Mac." With that, she shot off like a light, taking a few leaves from the surrounding apple trees with her.

Before the unicorn could even begin to inquire what that was all about, the earth pony came skidding to a stop in front of Big Macintosh, panting hard from running. "Where did she…what did you…what did you tell her?" she asked, fire blazing in her eyes. The red earth pony looked away, despite the fact that his sister was right in his face.

"Ah told her Ah didn't know nothin'."

"Ah don't believe you!" Applejack said, stomping her hoof.

At this, Twilight interjected, "Something about a box in your closet," she said. The orange mare turned around, shocked to see the unicorn standing behind her, before realizing what she said. She turned back to her brother, glaring.

"You didn't."

"Ah might'ave."

"Big Mac, Ah'm gunna git you fer this, if it's the last thing Ah do!" she said, stopping her front hooves a few times for emphasis, before taking off with a speed Twilight had never seen in any earth pony before.

"She didn't even say hi," said the unicorn. "Or bye."

"She's got bigger things to worry about now," Big Macintosh said, trying to hide his smile.

"I'm surprised at you," Twilight Sparkle said, as the two started walking in the direction of the farm house. "You're a lot different than I expected you to be."

The stallion looked over to the mare. "How's that?"

"Well," she shrugged. "Quiet. Withdrawn. More like you were this morning. Not incurring your sister's wrath."

"Ah have mah moments," he said, smiling with his head held up proudly. "Ain't nothin' wrong with teasin' mah sister. It won't hurt her none."

"Still," she said, "I guess ponies can surprise you. Then again, there's only been a few times when we've actually spoken, and both times, I think you were under some sort of spell."

"A spell?" he asked, ambling along, looking over to the mare.

"Yeah. You know. When Discord turned Ponyville into the chaos capital of the world?"

"Ah don't recall that too well," he said.

"Most ponies don't really know what happened when they were under Discord's spell," Twilight Sparkle said. "What do you remember?"

"Ah remember being covered in dirt for some reason," he said, frowning. "D'you know why?"

"You…" Twilight blushed at the memory, but thought it was better that he knew. Who wanted to have a moment in time blocked out of their memory? All the girls worked to piece together what happened to them when they were discorded, except for Fluttershy. She didn't want to hear about how awful she was being. Still, she felt like he had a right to know, especially since he asked. Even if it did involve her and him having a somewhat awkward moment. "Well, you thought you were a dog," she said.

"Ah dog?" he repeated.

"Yes," Twilight Sparkle said. "You were digging holes in the ground."

"And Ah talked to you like that?" he asked.

'Boy, he didn't miss that cue,' the mare thought to herself. Outloud, she said, "Well, not so much talked to me as, well…kissed me. LICKED ME!" The mare jumped back in surprise, as the stallion turned his head, shocked at what he had heard. "I MEANT TO SAY LICKED! On the cheek! On my face! It was innocent. You thought you were a dog. Why did I say 'kissed'? I meant to say licked! I swear. That's all you did! I don't know why I said otherwise!" The mare looked down, her face as red as the stallion's coat. "I'll just be quiet now."

After a few moments of silence, Big Macintosh said, "Ah was a dog, Ah dug holes, and Ah licked you on the face."

"THOUGHT you were a dog. And yes, you did that. And NOTHING more!" the mare said, still staring at the ground.

"And the other time we talked?"

"Well, there was no licking involved," Twilight Sparkle responded, confused at the question, allowing herself to look up at the Stallion. But he started chuckling at her, which made her feel even more embarrassed. With a sigh, she finished explaining, "That was when you stole my Smarty Pants doll."

He stopped laughing. Instead, he looked like he had just been caught. "Ah'm sorry about that, Miss Twilight. It just brings back memories of when Ah was a little Macintosh, and Ah didn't think you would miss it after everything that happened."

Twilight Sparkle blinked, before realizing what he was saying. "Wait…you have my Smarty Pants doll? I've been looking everywhere for her!"

Big Macintosh was about to say something, but his mouth hung open mid-word, causing the piece of hay he was perpetually chewing on to fall from his mouth and to the floor. After a moment, he said, "Ah thought that's what you meant."

"I meant when you stole it from the girls," she said. "And I meant when you were under the spell. I don't understand. You actually like her? No one else seemed to…until the spell…"

"When Ah was little," he explained, "AJ used to have the doll, but she didn't much care for it, so Ah took it. But one day, Ah got into a fight with one of my friends, and we fought over the doll, and it tore apart. Mah parents were gunna get me another one, but…well, they never got a chance to before they passed away."

"Oh," Twilight Sparkle said, hanging her head down. "I had no idea. I'm so sorry, Big Macintosh."

"Well, it don't matter," he said, resuming his walk back to the house. "It pro'bly means a lot to you, and Ah've been selfish."

Well, yes the doll did mean quite a bit to her. She cared enough about it to bring it to Ponyville, and thought enough about it that she thought she could get three young fillies to fight over it of their own volition. She had fond memories of sitting in the garden with Princess Celestia during her studies, writing down her notes as Smart Pants lay next to her, her own notebook and quill out for taking notes. Just thinking back on those times made her feel warm inside. But…

"You know, she's probably a lot safer with you than with me," Twilight said, walking next to the stallion. "I DID nearly destroy the town with her, so…"

Big Macintosh smiled, looking forward. Then, he nudged the mare lightly with his head. "Thank you, Miss Twilight."

Twilight Sparkle blushed. "You could just call me Twilight. You don't have to add the Miss." He nodded, then continued toward the farm house without saying much else.

Once at the house, Granny Smith was outside by the pastries cart, waiting. She seemed annoyed to see Big Macintosh walking up so slowly. "Half an hour, Ah've been waitin'," she said, moving to the side. "That's half an hour sellin' that we won't get to do, now. Ah loaded the cart already – it took me a while, but Ah did it since you weren't here. Ah've done mah job, it's your job to sell 'em, ya hear?"

Big Macintosh nodded, putting on the harness to the cart.

Granny Smith smiled to Twilight Sparkle. "That's a rather nice flower you have in your mane, deary. You have a good holiday, ya hear? Ah'm gunna go lay down. Ah'm way past due for mah noon-time nap."

The mare put a hoof up to her mane, having forgotten the carnation was there. "Happy Heart and Soul's Day to you too, Granny Smith," she said, as the old mare turned and slowly made her way to the farm house.

Twilight looked back to Big Macintosh, who was looking expectantly at the mare. When she walked up next to him, he started his slow saunter, pulling the cart. "Do you have any plans for tonight, Miss…Ah mean, Twilight?"

"Not anymore," she said. She didn't want to get ahead of herself, but based on books she had read in the past, she figured where this was going. She couldn't help the smile that crossed her face.

"That's too bad," he said. "Well, if you're goin' into town, Ah can walk you home."

"Uh-huh?" she said expectantly. But then the stallion kept walking, and the mare's face fell. They walked silently for a few minutes, until Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh, and turned to the stallion. "Do you have plans for tonight, Big Macintosh?"

"Eenope," he said.

"Maybe after your done working for the day, we could meet up again for the festival." Twilight's heart raced at having just asked the stallion out, but she tried to keep herself as collected as possible while she waited for his answer. He looked at her, eyes wide, as though he were surprised at what she had asked.

Then, after looking forward again, he said, "eeyup."

"Eeyup? That's a yes?" she asked, smiling a little too happily.

"Eeyup."

"Okay! That sounds good." She tried to push away the thought in the back of her mind that this would make a great letter to Princess Celestia, and instead tried to live in the excitement of the moment.

* * *

><p>Rainbow Dash landed through the open window in Applejack's room, then peeked out of the window to see where the mare was. She could see the blur of a mare in the distance, and decided she had about two minutes before she came into the room, swearing up a storm at the Pegasus. Luckily, due to her reconnaissance, she knew exactly where to look.<p>

The mare opened the closet, and found the blankets folded neatly on top of a black box. The Pegasus haphazardly grabbed the apple-decorated blankets, before tossing them onto the mare's bed. She dragged the box out, and opened it up.

She didn't know what she expected to find, but she still managed to be disappointed.

Rainbow Dash took out the Mare-Do-Well costume that was folded into the box and looked it over. The hat was missing – that must have been in another box – but the rest was there, placed over some other paraphernalia. Applejack's ticket to the gala. A picture of all the girls posing together. A drawing signed by Apple Bloom of her sister wearing her element of harmony. Some pictures from one of the many Pinkie Pie parties they had attended, including a candid picture of both she and Applejack bobbing for apples.

She might have to keep that one for herself.

She even saw another drawing that Apple Bloom had done with Rainbow Dash's wings upside down, from when they were afflicted with the Poison Joke. "Hey!" said the Pegasus. She put that aside so she could question the earth pony about it later.

Since Applejack seemed to be taking so long to catch the cyan mare in the act, Rainbow Dash decided to put the Mare-Do-Well outfit on while she waited. It would have a nice effect of annoying the orange mare a little more, and she liked to mess with her as much as she could. After that, she sat down and looked through the rest of the pictures, happening to find one of the two competing in the Iron Pony contest, one where they were running together after the Running of the Leaves, and even one of the two with their pets after Rainbow Dash had chosen Tank.

All the pictures made the mare smile.

She perked her ears up when she heard hooves racing up the stairs. Her warm hearted smile was replaced by a devilish one. She didn't bother to look up when Applejack stopped dead at the door. "You know," she said, looking at the pictures in the box," I figured this could have easily been something creepy, like if you were collecting my feathers or something, or something really sappy, like a notebook with my name scribbled in it five million times. This borders on sappy, but it's also… a little anti-climactic."

Rainbow Dash looked at the mare, smiling, before her smile was replaced by confusion. Applejack was staring at the mare, a look on her face the Pegasus couldn't quite place. "What?"

"…You're wearin' mah costume," she said.

"Well, it's not like I don't know you're 'secret identity'!" Rainbow Dash said, using her hooves to make air quotes.

Still panting from running after the Pegasus, the earth pony let a mischievous smile creep across her face, before she stepped into her room and closed the door with her back hoof. "That costume don't got no openin' for your wings." Applejack stomped at the floor once, ready to charge.

"Pony feathers," Rainbow Dash said, just barely getting up before the orange pony tackled her to the floor. "Hey!" the Pegasus called, her wings pinned against her body by the costume. Applejack held the pony from the back in a vice grip, as the rainbow maned mare struggled for a moment. "Would you let me up!"

"Say you're sorry," Applejack said into the Pegasus' ear.

"For what!" she asked, huffing as she gave up her fight. The orange mare had her back legs wrapped around her, and there was no use struggling against those apple-bucking primed legs of hers.

"For goin' through my things!" she paused for a moment. "And thinkin' ah collect your feathers. That IS creepy."

"Okay!" Rainbow Dash said, "I'm sorry for that. I'm just glad I didn't say the other thing I thought was in your box."

Applejack squeezed the mare tighter, possibly in an attempt to prove she had the strength to do more to her than just hold her down and make her apologize. Whatever it was supposed to do, the Pegasus knew it was having a very different effect. Applejack felt so nice and warm, and she was enjoying the close contact to the point that she wondered how much longer she could make it last. "What else were you thinkin'?" asked the earth pony.

"Oh, no, I'm not telling you!" Rainbow Dash let out a soft laugh as Applejack rolled to her side, bringing the mare to her side along with her, and tightened her grip.

"Tell me," she demanded.

"Nuh-uh! Ow!" The earth pony nipped on the pegasus' ear and pulled it lightly. Well, if that was what Applejack was going to do as punishment, Rainbow Dash would never tell! The cyan mare laid her head back against her friend, and relaxed into the tight hold that felt more like a tight embrace. "I'm never telling you, now," she said softly.

"Oh, yeah?" With that, Applejack lifted a hoof away from her grip around the mare, and then—

"BA-HA-HA!" The ungraceful laugh came Rainbow Dash from being poked in her stomach. Unfortunately, after knowing the earth pony for so long, she had accidentally revealed her weak spot – a spot on her stomach that was extremely ticklish. The Pegasus resumed trying to get out of Applejack's grip as she was being tickled mercilessly by the pony.

"You were sayin'?" the mare said over the other pony's laughter.

"Okay! Okay!" she said, her laughter stalling after Applejack had let up on tickling her. A few giggles escaped while the pony caught her breath. After a moment of silence, the earth pony lifted her hoof again, ready to resume tickling. "OKAY! Okay! Okay! Kinky."

Rainbow Dash could feel Applejack's body go rigid when she heard what she had said. "Uh…come again?"

"I said it you might have had something kinky in the box."

Applejack got up so fast that Rainbow Dash rolled on the floor. The earth pony didn't dare look at the Pegasus, but if she did, she probably would have revealed a very embarrassed face.

"Well, it wasn't my first thought," Rainbow Dash said, getting up and starting to take off the Mare-Do-Well costume. "I mean, your brother DID tell me where it was. That would have been just awkward if he saw something like that from his sister."

"Ah'm gunna…head downstairs," Applejack said, opening the door to her room. "Just leave the stuff there, Ah'll clean it up later." Without looking back, the orange mare trotted out of the room.

"Well, what was that all about?" Rainbow Dash asked herself. Yes, it would have been embarrassing for the mare, but that was no reason to leave the room.

Rainbow Dash tossed the costume to the side, before going towards the hallway. However, when she heard a crunch under her hooves, she groaned. Looking down, she saw she had stepped on and cracked the lid to Applejack's box. She picked it up to investigate the damage. When she turned the lid over, she froze.

Taped to the bottom of the lid was a picture of Rainbow Dash. She remembered it well from the days when she let fame get to her head just a little. It was even signed by her, "With all my love, RD." The Pegasus knew the earth pony would never have added to her ego by asking for a signed autograph from her when everypony else was fawning over her. She must have found it.

Rainbow Dash put the lid back where she found it with the picture face down, and took a second to let the wave of emotion wash over her. She didn't want Applejack to know she saw the picture. To her, it could only mean one thing. And the idea made her so happy that she felt nervous. Taking a few deep breaths to try and steady her nerves, she limbered up her muscles a bit, and then made her way to the stairs.

Applejack was standing by the door, watching Big Macintosh and Twilight Sparkle walk off with the pastries cart to go to market. Rainbow Dash walked confidently past Applejack, nudging her hat with her hoof as she walked past. "Come on, AJ," she said, smiling to the pony. "This day won't last forever!"

Applejack looked down at her hooves, shifting uncomfortably from hoof to hoof. "Uh, RD, maybe we shouldn't…"

"Hey, don't quit on me, now," said the Pegasus, leaning forward to put a hoof on the earth pony's shoulder. She tried to give her a reassuring look. "You said we could hang out today. If you don't want to do it…"

"It's not that," she said, looking down at her hooves some more.

"Then…what's the problem?" The mare drew back. Maybe she came on too strong with her comment earlier.

Adjusting her hat, the mare took in a deep breath, before finally looking up to Rainbow Dash. They made eye contact, and Applejack gave a small smile, her cheeks getting a little pink. "Nothin'. Okay, let's go."

Though both mares were still nervous, they trotted next to each other. There was an anticipatory silence as they made their way back into the orchard to spend the rest of the day alone together.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5 – Afternoon**_

"Alright!" Pinkie Pie said, looking serious as she stepped off the train. "We have a lot of Canterlot to see, and very little time before sunset. We have to plan this out perfectly. No distractions. We'll start at the upper quadrants, and work our way down in a rhythmic fashion that would make even the royal guards envious of our precision. HEY! A sweet shop!" Fluttershy had just barely stepped off the train and onto the platform when she was dragged into the shop by the pink mare.

The day followed in such a manner. After the sweet's shop, where Pinkie Pie came out with a saddle bag stuffed with sweets, and Fluttershy had only one item, the two trotted off to hike around some of the more scenic areas of Canterlot. They came across a lake just bordering the city where couples were renting out boats for a romantic ride, which Pinkie Pie thought was a great idea.

While most posh couples were quietly sitting in boats letting a third pony they most likely paid row, enjoying their time together, the pink mare rowed as fast as she could, jetting through the water. Fluttershy crouched low in the boat, hanging on for dear life. Some of the upperclass ponies snubbed their noses at them, and one couple decided to laugh at them. Their scrutiny, however, was circumvented when the mare paddled past them at top speed, soaking the occupants of the boat with the water from the lake.

After feeding the fish and the birds near the lake, the two mares went to take a tour of the opera house. But when Pinkie Pie decided the tour was boring and cutting into their precious fun time, she decided to burst out into song on the opera stage. The two ponies were kicked out of the tour.

Seeing that Fluttershy was upset at having been kicked out from somewhere for the second time that day (the first being the vet's office), Pinkie Pie suggested they go try and see that animals at the mall like the yellow mare wanted to at the gala. They could even have snack time on the castle gardens.

They decided on a snack, first. Unfurling a picnic blanket, Pinkie opened up her basket, revealing a bunch of balloons. "Never travel anywhere without balloons," the mare said, nodding.

Fluttershy lay down on the blanket, breathing a sigh of relief. She just didn't have the energy to keep up with the pink mare all day. She was glad to have the break as Pinkie Pie passed out sweets. Then the pink mare decided to use the Pegasus' soft, feathery wing and side as a pillow. "Ahh," the mare sighed in satisfaction. "It's a lot of work being a tourist."

The Pegasus squirmed at being used as a pillow, but didn't want to move too much and make the other mare uncomfortable. "Well, it's a very large city," she said. "We should come back here sometime."

"They're so uptight!" Pinkie Pie said. "They need a good Pinkie Pie party to loosen them up a bit."

"Please, not now," Fluttershy said, closing her eyes shut at the idea.

"Well, no, not now! Today is YOUR day, silly. Unless you wanted a party. Hey! Do you want a party?" The mare hoisted herself up and looked at the Pegasus with a hopeful glimmer in her eye.

"Um…not right now, if you don't mind."

"Aww," she said, falling back onto the Pegasus mare. "Soon," she said, nodding resolutely.

"Oh, my," Fluttershy said, not knowing what to make of that comment. Then the mare looked off at the other couples on the gardens. The area was decorated for the holiday, and it seemed that couples from all over Equestria had come out to see the castle gardens on Hearts and Souls Festival. Despite being there with her friend, the Pegasus could really feel the romantic atmosphere. Yet she didn't feel like she was missing anything.

Pinkie Pie got up and lay down against Fluttershy, looking at what the mare was looking at. "They're so cute, aren't they?" She asked, smiling to the Pegasus. Then she lifted up a cupcake and put it up to the the yellow mare's lips. "Here, eat up, you'll need your energy to get through the day."

"Well, I…" The mare blushed as Pinkie Pie tried to feed her.

"Come on, nom nom! It's good for you. I'm pretty sure sweets are one of the main food groups, after caramel apples and milkshakes."

"Those are both sweets, too, Pinkie."

"Are you sure?" the mare narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "Because apples are fruits."

Fluttershy laughed softly. "Oh, Pinkie." The pink mare touched the cupcake to the pegasus' mouth, getting frosting on her nose. Rather than end up with frosting all over her face, Fluttershy allowed the pink mare to feed her the cupcake.

* * *

><p>For the holiday, certain rooms of the castle were opened for ponies to visit. They were encouraged to come in and explore areas that usually only important ponies or ponies who needed to address the Princess would see. It was there that Rarity and Fancy Pants were among the small crowd of visitors and vendors selling roses and trinkets, in a room that sported many stain glass windows. Rarity was looking up at the windows, and the stories they told, when she saw the one that depicted her and her six friend's fight against Discord.<p>

Rarity had not seen it since the ceremony commemorating their victory. Without the day's celebrations and her friends by her side, the artistic representation of that day seemed very large and daunting. She felt very small next to it.

"A rose for my lady?" Rarity turned to see Fancy Pants was holding a rose up to her with his magic. At this, Rarity smiled, accepting the rose with her magic.

"Thank you so much," she said. "It's simply gorgeous." It was then that she realized she was not wearing any fancy clothes that day. She had been so busy making the clothes, that she didn't think to grab any sort of clothing or accessory before she left Ponyville. Suddenly, she felt very vulnerable. And she certainly had nowhere to put the rose.

"Here, allow me." The unicorn stallion took the rose with his magic, broke the stem to remove the thorns, and placed it in the mare's mane. "There you are."

Rarity looked down, blushing lightly. "Why, Fancy Pants, you do know how to treat a lady." He nodded to the mare, before looking up at the stained glass window she was looking at.

Suddenly, Rarity was gripped with panicked. She didn't go around telling ponies about how she was an Element of Harmony, or how she and her friends saved Equestria on two separate occasions. They had all agreed to keep as low brow as possible. (Well, Rainbow Dash may have wanted to brag about it, but the other's talked her out of it when they reminded her of her dream to be a Wonderbolt, and how that might be affected by the fact that everypony would know who she is for a different reason than she would have liked. Sure, the Pegasus had an ego, but even she wanted to make the Wonderbolts by skill and not fame.) Rarity, herself, had called talking about it "tacky", and though many ponies in Ponyville knew of their heroics, they also knew of them just being themselves, and treated them as they always had. Plus, they had made a mess of Ponyville so many times, that the two canceled each other out.

So, not knowing how the stallion would react to seeing his date's image commemorated on a stain glass window in the royal palace, she did the only thing she could think of: try and distract him. "You know what I think would be lovely?" she said a little louder than she had intended. He looked over to her. "I've never seen the ballet house before. I wonder if they have a tour..."

"Better," said the Stallion. "They are having a very charming Hearts and Souls Day ballet playing now. Would you like to see it?"

Rarity's eyes widened. She didn't expect to actually SEE a ballet. "That would be lovely!" With that, the stallion led the way out of the castle so they could catch the afternoon showing of the ballet.

* * *

><p>Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked into the throne room. The yellow Pegasus was still on a natural high after having been to the mall. "Did you see the Scarlet Ibis? Oh, and the sweet little Tapir…why, I don't even think those come from Equestria! And the Blue Tongued Skink was so…magnificent."<p>

"I'm sorry they wouldn't let you get near them," Pinkie Pie said.

"Oh…they must remember me from last time…" She blushed furiously at the memory.

"Well, at least you got to see them! You seem happier than you were this morning."

The mention of the morning seemed to flood the young pegasus' memory, and she sank down, sullen. "Oh, Angel. I hope he's doing okay…"

"Oh, no, no, no!" Pinkie said, jumping in front of the mare, concerned. "You can't get all sad again, now! Look at where we are! And…and look!" She said cheerfully, pointing a hoof at the stained glass windows. "Remember when we were commemorated?"

The Pegasus looked up at the window, her ears falling back on her head. "My goodness," she said softly, shrinking down at the sight of it. "It's so…large."

Pinkie Pie furrowed her brows and pursed her lips, somewhat perturbed at her friend's reaction to seeing the window she had seen once before. But then she noticed they had been talking a little too loudly for the room and saw a few ponies were looking at the two of them and whispering, pointing up at the window and back to them.

At first, the pink mare was elated, but her happiness quickly turned to worry as the yellow Pegasus before her seemed uncomfortable at the sight of her own image plastered somewhere. Ponies recognizing her would surely make her have a new panic attack. "Hey, Flutters!" she said, turning to flank the Pegasus on her side and putting a foreleg around the mare. "You know what we should do? You're going to love it!"

"I am?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah! Come on! It's a surprise!" That would give her time to think about what it is they were going to do. She led the mare out of the hall, where the whispers were becoming more evident.

"Ta-da!" Pinkie Pie burst out of a dressing room, wearing a very stylish looking dress, white and navy blue, the likes Fluttershy had only seen at a garden party before. "How do you think I look?" She struck a pose. "Classy?"

Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh. "You're posing a little like Rarity."

"Am I?" Pinkie Pie asked, turning to the mirror to see how she was posing. "Well, she's a classy mare! I wonder why she never let's me try on clothes at her shop."

"Oh, Pinkie, don't you remember?" asked the Pegasus. "You got a chocolate stain on that one dress she was working on, and refused to let her try on another thing in her shop unless you were planning on buying it."

"Oh, yeah…" The pink mare furrowed her brow.

"But that's okay, Pinkie. You have plenty of fascinating outfits of your own that you manage to wear."

"What about you?" The pink earth pony trotted over to a dress, her own dress bobbing along as it was forced to moved in a way that was not intended of it. "You would look soooo cute in this!" The mare pulled out a green dress. "Green suits you."

"I couldn't…"

"Yes, you could, silly!" Pinkie Pie put the dress on her back and started pushing the mare into the dressing room.

* * *

><p>Rarity sat in the outdoors seating area of a local restaurant, playing with what was left of her food. Fancy Pants had excused himself momentarily, and she was alone to contemplate the day. The Pegasus ballet had been absolutely astounding, as had lunch, and Rarity was only wondering what wonderful things Canterlot had to offer at night for such a special day. Everything had already been wonderful. And she was looking forward to seeing how the Wonderbolts treated the sunset.<p>

"Oh, my gosh, RARITY! RARITY! RAR-I-TY! Over here! Hey! OVER here!" The unicorn mare's eyes shot open as she looked over and saw Pinkie Pie on the other side of the fencing that separated the dining area from the rest of the streets. She couldn't quite comprehend what she was seeing. It almost looked like Pinkie Pie wearing a posh, fancy blue outfit, complete with hat, but surely that wasn't the case. And just behind her walked up what looked like Fluttershy wearing an equally fancy green dress, looking incredibly uncomfortable to look so fabulous.

Rarity forgot herself for a moment as she shot up in her seat, slamming her hooves to the table. "Pinkie? Fluttershy! What are you DOING here?" The two trotted over to her. Or that is to say, Fluttershy trotted over, Pinkie Pie, whipped herself over so quickly, she was before the unicorn in a flash. "And wearing such fabulous outfits! I'm surprised at you. If you wanted to dress up for the holiday, you should have told me! I would have been more than happy to whip something up for you!"

"Pinkie Pie thought it would be fun to try on some clothes," Fluttershy said. "I'm not sure what happened after that. Before I knew it, she had purchased the outfits…It really was too much, Pinkie."

"I told you, its okay, Flutters," said the earth pony. "You just looked so cute!" She huggled the yellow Pegasus, who squirmed uncomfortably at the attention. "I HAD to buy the outfit, but I knew you wouldn't wear anything if I didn't wear anything, so here we are!"

"You really do look wonderful, Fluttershy," Rarity said reassuringly. "Of course, you would look even more wonderful in a Rarity original," she said, looking off to the side, annoyance clearly portrayed on her face.

"I'm so sorry, Rarity," Fluttershy said. "Everything was last minute. I had no idea we'd be in Canterlot today."

"We're winging it, today" Pinkie Pie said. Then her eyes widened in delight. "Aha! Winging it? Get it! She's a Pegasus," She laughed to herself. "I LOVE accidental puns. They're so fun."

Rarity put a hoof to her forehead. "Oh, dear…"

"Rarity," said Fluttershy's gentle voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a client."

"Well, I did," Rarity said, frowning at the memory. "We took care of everything." Then her heart stopped. The last thing she needed was Pinkie Pie questioning Fancy Pants when he came back. "Actually," she said, "I hope you two don't mind, but I'm meeting with a very important pony right now, and I really shouldn't be talking to somepony else."

"Ooohh," said the pink mare. "Look at you! All classy and important! Okay." She winked. "We'll let you get back to your business. Fluttershy and I have to keep up our date, anyway."

"Thank you, kindly, Pin—Date?" Rarity asked, looking between the two.

"Oh, well, hello," came a male voice behind the unicorn mare. She went rigid at the sound. 'Oh, _noooo_….' She thought.

"Hey! It's Fancy Pants!" Pinkie Pie said. "Hi! Do you remember us! We were at your garden party a while back! Swanky party! It earned the Pinkie Pie approval." She got a serious look on her face as she nodded knowingly at the stallion.

"It's nice to see you again," Fluttershy said, nodding with a soft smile on her face.

"Yes," Rarity said, smiling uneasily. "Too bad you were just leaving." Knowing that Pinkie Pie would never get the subtlety from the unicorn, she gave a look to Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus shrunk down slightly at the look she got from Rarity, but seemed to understand.

"Pinkie, we should probably go. I don't think they'll be holding wine tasting for much longer."

"Mm, that should be gooood," Pinkie Pie said, licking her lips in anticipation. "But after that, I say we go home. No way I'm missing all the fun in Ponyville for festival night!"

"The Ponyville Festival, you say?" asked the stallion, his eyes brightening at the idea. Rarity had a bad feeling where this was going. "Well, I say, that sounds like it would be splendid! I've never attended an event in Ponyville, before."

Before Rarity could speak up, Pinkie Pie was by Fancy Pant's side, though no one saw exactly when she jumped the fence. "Oh, you should TOTALLY come to Ponyville tonight! It's so amazing! The hay rides, the games, the food, the bonfire! It's so romantic," she said, leaning against the stallion, a hoof up to her forehead in a mock swoon.

"Pinkie," Rarity said warningly.

"Uh, Pinkie?" Fluttershy said, lifting up a hoof as though it would stop the train wreck in process.

"Why, that sounds absolutely delightful," Fancy Pants said. "Particularly the hay rides. Very rustic. Everything in Canterlot is so formal, so ritualized. It would be nice to get out of the city for the night." He looked to the unicorn. "What's say you show me around your home town tonight, my dear?"

Her smile locked onto her face, Rarity didn't quite know how to answer. She was sooo close! She had a charming stallion for a date on Hearts and Souls Festival in Canterlot, her dream city. All she needed was the perfect dress, and everything would have been exactly as she had dreamed! But though he let on very little what emotion he was truly feeling on his face, Rarity could tell he really liked the idea. And after saving her with her client that morning, she simply couldn't say no.

Hanging her head slightly, she said, "That sounds delightful."

"YES!" Pinkie Pie yelled, calling the attention of everypony passing by. "It will be great! I might even have to get home early and make an extra special party for your first time in Ponyville."

"Uuhh," Rarity tried to say.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy interjected in her soft voice, spotting the trouble.

The pink mare looked to the Pegasus, before putting a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Fancy Pants, sir! Your party will have to wait. I'm on a date tonight with Fluttershy, and she comes first!" She nodded resolutely.

Fluttershy blushed furiously. "That's not what I meant," she said, but Pinkie Pie didn't seem to hear her. Rarity just smiled knowingly at the Pegasus, before turning back to the pink mare. But Pinkie was gone. She was once again by Fluttershy's side, though no pony saw her move.

"We'll take a rain check on that awesome party," said the party pony.

"Let's go, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, putting a hoof on the mare.

"And I'll bring my party canon! And goods from Sugar Cube Corner!"

"The wine tasting won't last long," she tried to pull the pink mare away.

"Oh! And we can play pin the tail on the pony! It will be so—!"

"PINKIE!" Rarity said through grated teeth. "Fluttershy is trying to get your attention. It is a date between you two, after all, isn't it?"

"Oh, you're right," Pinkie Pie turned and put a hoof around the mare. "Shall we?" The two trotted off towards the wine tasting. Rarity turned, smiling nervously.

"Well, then," Fancy Pants said, leaving a few bits on the table and getting up to leave. "I wonder what sunset looks like in Ponyville. It should be interesting. We often have our sunset show done by the Wonderbolts, but they don't know anything about subtlety."

Rarity just smiled and nodded. She would have liked to see the Wonderbolts show, no matter how showy it was.

* * *

><p>The train ride to Ponyville was not a very long one – half an hour, as long as nothing happened to the track. But while other times Rarity rode the train with excitement, this train ride was much different. An entire night working and a day seeing the wonders of Canterlot were finally taking a toll on her. With Fancy Pants speaking about something or other to her right, she tried her best to pay attention.<p>

But the slight jostling of the train was like a mother lulling her child to sleep, and despite her best efforts, Rarity finally allowed herself to close her eyes, just for a moment.

She didn't realize that moment would take up the entire train ride. Nor did she realize that she would spend that entire train ride asleep, laying her full weight against her date's side.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I try not to do too many author's notes, but I just wanted to explain: I hoped to get this out before Valentine's Day, but seeing as it is currently Valentine's Day, and I still have two more chapters to go (plus possibly an epilogue), I'll have to settle for AROUND Valentine's Day. *sigh* Happy Valentine's Day!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 6 – Sunset<strong>_

"Rarity," said a soft voice. The mare was enveloped in darkness, as sweet, sweet sleep was doing it's best to keep her in its confines. "Rarity, we're here."

"Mmm," moaned the pony, stretching her limbs, before going limp again against her soft her pillow. She was so nice and warm. "Five more minutes…"

"Well, I assure you, I would let you keep sleeping, but I don't think the crew members will allow us to ride back from the next stop without paying for another ticket."

"Hmm-wha-?" Rarity took in a deep breath and managed to open her eyes.

"Besides, you mentioned you wanted to see the sunset."

Realizing she was not, in fact, in her room, on her bed, in her house, but on a train with ponies she didn't know staring at her, and lying on something foreign, the mare jerked awake. "Huh? Wha? Where am I?" she asked. She turned to see she was facing Fancy Pants, of all ponies.

"You fell asleep on the train ride," he said, his gentle smile gracing his face.

"Oooooh," Rarity said, looking around at what she had been lying on: a train seat. She was covered with her date's jacket, and could only assume she had been using his leg as a pillow. Mortified, she felt her face go bright red, and turned to the stallion. "I am sooo sorry, Fancy Pants! I had no idea! I don't know what came over me! Oh, dear, I hope I wasn't doing something embarrassing, like snoring."

"No, not at all," he said, laughing softly, as he got up, and helped Rarity to her hooves. "Though you do talk a little in your sleep."

"I…I do?" she asked, feeling her face turn even more red, if that were possible.

"It was quite charming, I assure you," he said as they walked out onto the platform. It was then that she realized she still had the stallion's coat on her.

"Oh, and you gave me your coat. That is…" Embarrassment turned to giddiness as she realized the sincerity of the act. "That is too sweet. Thank you." She pulled the coat off and gave it back to him.

"It was nothing. Are you sure you don't need it?"

"I'd actually like to get into something festive for the festival tonight," she said. "But, again…thank you." The doors closed and the train started getting ready to leave again. It was then that Rarity noticed her reflection in the window. Her face fell at the sight. Her mane was completely mushed, stray hairs out in every which direction. "Oh, dear," she said, as she tried her best to get it back into shape right then.

"Oh, it's fine," Fancy Pants said with a small chortle as he took a hoof and started to lead Rarity down the platform. "You shouldn't worry so much about your appearance, Rarity. You are far too lovely to look anything but beautiful."

"You are too kind, darling," she said, though she fought every fiber in her being to try and fix her mane before they left. "If you don't mind going by my boutique, first? We should have plenty of time to find a nice place to watch the sunset." The stallion agreed, and off they went.

* * *

><p>At the wine tasting, an uptight stallion with grapes for a cutie mark was explaining how to go about selecting and tasting wines. The white wines were first, a small sampling of each poured into each pony's glass. Fluttershy was listening carefully to follow the instructions, but Pinkie Pie drank her wine before he even began to explain.<p>

"No, no, no," said the stallion when he noticed the wine had disappeared from the mare's glass. "You have to first take in the color of the wine."

"I did," she said. "I took in everything about the wine! More, please!" She smiled as she put her glass out to the mare serving the wine. She glared at Pinkie Pie, before serving her some more. As the stallion resumed talking about what colors should be looked for in a wine and what can be appreciated from it, the pink mare leaned over to the Pegasus and whispered, "It's really dry. I like sweet wines, but, eh."

"I didn't realize you liked wine so much, Pinkie," Fluttershy said.

"Well, it's not my spirit of choice," she said in a mock posh voice. "I like 'em sweet. But they always give you so little at these things, so if you want to get a good buzz, you gotta start early." She tossed back another glass just as the sommelier started explaining how to properly smell the wine. Pinkie Pie stuck her tongue out, before smiling and waiting for the mare to serve her more. The serving mare looked to the sommelier, but as he was busy showing how to properly smell the wine, the server just rolled her eyes and poured a small sampling more.

Fluttershy took a whiff of the wine, before jerking back. It was, to her, a very strong smell, and she was worried about getting drunk off the fumes, let alone having to drink it.

"Now," said the expert, "Take a sip, but don't swallow it yet." Fluttershy heard Pinkie Pie let out a satisfied, "Ah!" as she threw back another glass, followed by a, "more, please!" The expert continued. "Let it linger on your tongue and really get the tastes on each taste bud. Swish it around gently in your mouth, and take notice of each robust flavor." Fluttershy tried to do as told, but once her tongue hit the tiniest droplet of wine, she pulled back, and refused to drink any of it.

The sommelier noticed and seemed to be insulted, to which Fluttershy said, "I'm sorry," softly, and put down the glass.

Pinkie Pie leaned in close with a huff, "I can't believe that mare won't give me another sample of wine! …are you going to finish that?" Fluttershy pushed the glass towards the pink mare, and she chugged it down, before giving a satisfied smile to the serving mare.

This went on for four more different flavors of wine. With each step, Pinkie Pie would drink down her wine before it was even time to smell it, and though the serving mare refused to give her more, Pinkie would manage to pop up next to somepony who didn't want to taste their wine, if there was one, and talked them into giving the wine to her, and then finish off with Fluttershy's, as most of the wines were too strong for her, anyhow.

As the sixth wine was passed out, Pinkie was already in discussions about which wine to buy with the serving mare. "I mean, that last one was sweet, and it's the only one that Fluttershy would drink, so I'm thinking that would be a good one to buy. But are they really expensive? I'm mean super duper expensive? Not that I couldn't afford it, mind you," she said rubbing a hoof on her outfit, then looking at it as though she had just shined it up. "It's just I'm not sure I'm COMMITTED to buying it yet."

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said.

"Shh," Pinkie Pie said, leaning close to the Pegasus. "I'm trying to get another sample out of her!"

"I heard that," said the serving mare. Pinkie Pie gave a nervous smile.

After nearly getting kicked out, Pinkie Pie managed to buy a bottle of the sweet wine they had sampled, and the two of them got out of the wine tasting facility as fast as possible. Fluttershy walked with her head low, looking severely reprimanded, while Pinkie Pie trotted along, happy to have gotten enough wine to get tipsy, as well as purchase something she found delicious. "Have some wine with me, Flutters, I bought this one so we can have it together!" She nudged the mare lightly with her nose.

"I don't like getting kicked out of stores," she said, hanging her head low.

"You weren't kicked out!" Pinkie Pie said, looking at the yellow mare with a serious expression on her face. "You were ALMOST kicked out. Don't worry, you get used to it. In fact, if I wasn't a professional at getting kicked out of places, you could add wine tasting to the places you've been kicked out of!" Pinkie Pie smiled broadly.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy said. "I feel like I was being kicked out."

"No, that was just a tactic to get me to buy wine," Pinkie Pie said, looking at the bottle. "And it worked!" She was trying to figure out how to open the bottle with her hoof, before resorting to her teeth.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said, looking to the sky. "It's getting late. We should get back on the train, right? We can save the wine for later tonight."

Pinkie Pie leaned against Fluttershy, the wine she had already consumed starting to take effect. She nodded to the mare. "Sounds like a good idea to me!"

Somehow, Fluttershy managed to get her date back onto the train to Ponyville for the night's festivities.

* * *

><p>"Alright," Rainbow Dash said, smiling to the orange mare who lay on the ground, looking up to the sky. The Pegasus was nervous as the sunset was approaching. Already, Pegasi could be seen in the sky, preparing the clouds and the climate for the perfect sunset. "So…there was more than one reason for me to bring you up here…aside from showing you the view and spending some time with you."<p>

"Ya mean _hangin' out_?" Applejack asked. They had to have several odd conversations before they started to feel normal around each other after the incident in Applejack's bedroom. Still, there was electricity in the air between the two, and they both knew it. Under the guise of them being just friends, Rainbow Dash simply nodded to the comment. Her nerves must have shown on her face, because Applejack followed her comment with, "Are you alright, sugar cube?"

Oh, Celestia, how the Pegasus loved the way the earth pony said, 'sugar cube.'

"Well, see," Rainbow Dash said, "I may have had something to do with the preparations for the sunset this year."

Applejack's eyes widened. "Well, Ah gotta say, Rainbow, that's not what Ah was expectin' you ta say."

"I know," she said. She was so nervous; her heart felt like it was pumping out of her chest. She had to take a deep breath before continuing. "You see, I was asked to help out for this year, and while I usually would accept, I really…well, I wanted to…help create the sunset rather than be part of it because, well, first of all, a singular rainbow stream in the air during a sunset? It will just detract from my own, personal awesomeness," she said, trying to make light. But really, her nerves made her feel like she was going to throw up, so she thought it better to just forego the jokes.

"Rainbow, Ah've never seen you like this before," Applejack said, sitting up and looking quizzically at the rainbow-maned mare. "You're makin' me nervous!"

"Well, maybe you should be," Rainbow Dash said in all seriousness, even moving forward and nodding to the mare to convey how serious she was. "See, since I had so much say this year…I wanted to express what's it's been like for me. This year. Yeah."

"Ah'm not sure what you're sayin'," the orange mare said.

"Well, I mean, I'm not an artist, like Rarity," she explained. "I'm not smart like Twilight, or …"

"You're smart, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Why in the world would you think you weren't?"

"Well, I mean, like Twilight," she said. "No pony is as smart as her. Um…can you let me get this out? I might not be able to finish if you keep talking." The mare seemed a little miffed at being told to keep quiet, but she nodded and leaned back a bit, waiting to take in what the Pegasus had to say. "Where was I? Right, smart like Twilight. I could never be as happy as Pinkie Pie always is, and I'm not sweet and kind like Fluttershy. And, well, there's you. I could never be…" She let out a nervous sigh. "I can never be as wonderful as you are, Applejack." The orange mare turned a little red, and gave the Pegasus a sincere smile.

Another nervous exhalation. "I mean, you're so hard working and honest, and…well…beautiful," Rainbow Dash started blushing, and then she just couldn't look at Applejack, anymore. "But that's besides the point. So, when I was given the chance to help with the sunset this year, I knew what I wanted to do. And I was inspired by…you." Now the Pegasus was committed to staring at the ground, digging lightly at the dirt. "So, I…"

She didn't get a chance to finish what she was going to say. Applejack had used her hoof to lift up the mare's chin so that they looked into each other's eyes. The electricity the Pegasus could feel earlier sparked between them, and there was nothing either of them could do at that point. Their fate was sealed, and all that was left to do was to proceed.

They leaned in towards each other, bringing their lips close to one another. For a moment, Applejack pulled away a little, but Rainbow Dash wasn't going to let her get away this time. Not when they were this close. She pulled in, closed her eyes, puckered her lips.

Then their lips met for their first kiss.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, each seemed like a blissful eternity. Then after a second more, Rainbow Dash pulled away. She opened her eyes just in time to see Applejack move a little forward, following after her lips, her eyes opening in surprise. The Pegasus smiled, and bit back a laugh by biting her lip. "Expecting something more?" she asked.

Applejack looked up, face flushed, looking a little confused. "A…a whole lot more," she said.

"That can be arranged." And she captured the earth pony's lips for another kiss.

* * *

><p>Pinkie Pie was humming to herself as she sat in the train seat on the way back to Ponyville. Fluttershy looked to the pink mare, then to herself. How they ended up in such strikingly elegant outfits still baffled her. The day had certainly been a little overwhelming for her, but she enjoyed trying some new things. And it took her mind off of Angel, who she was sure was resting safely at the veterinarian's office.<p>

Pinkie Pie gasped with glee. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! LOOK! It's sunset!"

The yellow mare looked out the window to see Pegasi flying through the air. The sunset was already displaying a muted rainbow across the canvas of the sky. Pegasi - with different colors that trailed behind them - flew in different formations and figurations. The combination made the color of the Celestia's sun streaming through their trails appear in every different shade, and the rays of light seemed to undulate in the air like waves as the flying ponies created formations in the sky.

"That's beautiful," Pinkie Pie said, leaning out the window, as a silly smile crossed her face. Fluttershy leaned out the window next to Pinkie's smiling up at the change in colors and patterns made by the clouds in the sky, the likes of which they only saw once a year.

Rarity, with her mane fixed and wearing a simple yet fashionable pink dress, sat on a blanket next to Fancy Pants near Fluttershy's cottage. There were plenty of places where they could have had a better view of the sunset, but those areas were packed with ponies, and Rarity wanted her stallion to have the best first show in Ponyville as possible. After all, how much fun could he have surrounded by a gasping and oohing crowd? Still, there were a few ponies who seemed to have the same idea as she did, so they were not alone.

Just as a Pegasus formed a spiral in the air using the colors that trailed behind her (caused by her tail color), the unicorn mare stole a glance at her date. He was looking up at the sky, with an amazed smile on his face. "How is this compared to Canterlot?" she asked.

"It's absolutely stunning," Fancy Pants said, not taking his eyes off of the spectacle. "We have some very impressive acrobatics, plus the Princess is often there to lower the sun, but it's all so…rigid. The Wonderbolts are performers, but they're not artists. This…well, this is art."

Feeling pride for her home town, Rarity smiled and looked up to the show. The horizon was gleaming pale orange and light yellow as the sun was halfway to its resting point.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle was on the balcony of the library, watching with fascination as some of the Pegasi performing flew so close to the library, that they skimmed the leaves. Spike sat on the balcony's edge, leaning forward, with a massive smile on his face as he watched the show.<p>

"Did you see how close they got?" he asked Twilight.

The mare laughed. "I'm right here with you, Spike!" Her attention went from looking to Spike to somepony down on the ground, looking up at the spectacle. Big Macintosh looked like he was in the middle of walking somewhere with his cart attached to his collar, when he got distracted by the show. The unicorn leaned over the edge of the balcony. "Big Mac!" she called. The stallion tore his eyes away from the sights and noticed the mare looking at him. "Come on up here! It's a better view!"

The earth pony looked to his cart, then up to the mare. "Don't worry," she said. "We can watch it from here. Just leave it at the door!" Big Macintosh moved faster than the unicorn had expected him to, taking off the yoke and harness and going into the library. She smiled when she realized how much he must like to watch the show, too.

"Hmmph," Spike said, "You want me to leave you two alone?"

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes. He didn't take the news that she would be spending the festival night with Big Macintosh rather than him very well. He was hoping to enjoy the festival with a friend. "Don't take it personally, Spike," she said. "You should join Apple Bloom and the others tonight. You'll have more fun with them, anyways." The dragon just folded his arms as Big Macintosh lumbered onto the balcony, smiling graciously to the unicorn.

"What do you think of this years show, so far?" asked the unicorn.

"Ah like the colors," he admitted. "That's red like a fresh apple." The mare turned her attention to the horizon, and nodded in agreement at his comparison.

* * *

><p>Pinned to the ground, Rainbow Dash could only submit to the passionate kisses between the two friends-turned-something-more. Not that it was a bad position to be in. Lost in the world they had created, the Pegasus only hoped to be lost there forever.<p>

With Applejack lying on top of her, all Rainbow Dash could do was put her forelegs around her and return her kisses with equal fervor and determination. She stroked a hoof through the mare's light yellow mane, reaching the end of her ponytail and plucking the hair band away, allowing the earth pony's mane to flow free. She stroked her pale orange fur. The mare pulled away, and they looked into each other's eyes.

Her beautiful green eyes.

…green eyes…

Oh, crud, the sunset!

"OH!" Rainbow Dash mumbled, pushing Applejack away, much to the earth pony's chagrin. "The sunset! You're missing it!"

The orange mare opened her mouth to say something, but seemed at a loss for words. Then, after a moment, she said, "Ah think there'll be more sunsets in the future, RD."

"No, I mean," Still pinned onto her back, the mare looked out towards the setting sun. The final colors were fading out. "The colors I carefully planned….do you know how long that took?" Realizing what the mare meant, Applejack got up and looked towards the sun. It had just a sliver to go, and as the two watched, the sun disappeared behind the horizon. There was a sudden green flash, and that was it. Rainbow Dash let out a huff, turning to her side and slowly getting up. She looked dejectedly towards the Pegasi, who were flying in formation away from the sunset, trailing a pastel colored rainbow between the six of them, and flying out of sight. "All that work…"

"Oh, Ah'm sorry, sugar cube," Applejack said, nudging the mare. "Ah guess we kinda got caught up…"

"Yeah," she said. "Well…" Rainbow Dash's frown turned into a mischievous smile. "You owe me for that."

Applejack let out a small yelp as she was pounced by the Pegasus mare.


	7. Chapter 7

_****A/N: I'm sorry for the delay - writer's block, other projects, and personal issues came between me and finishing this story by my self appointed deadline. One more chapter after this, then epilogue. Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 7 – Twilight<strong>_

Light was still in the sky when Ponyville erupted into celebration. Two lovers reunited in a time of separation and hate – a simple story that struck so much inspiration in the ponies of Equestria. The bonfire was lit, the games commenced, and ponies came out in droves to celebrate.

Pinkie Pie staggered into town from the train depot, the effects of the wine during the wine tasting, and the wine she managed to open during the train ride home, having taken its effects. Fluttershy had joined in drinking just a little bit, but hardly enough to feel the effects of the alcohol in her system. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was carrying an empty bottle in her saddle bag, which she purchased to match her fancy outfit for the day. Or what she believed to match.

"You know, Flutters," said the mare. "I always thought…I always thought that you 'got' me."

"How do you mean, Pinkie?" asked the Pegasus, trying to keep the mare in a straight line.

"I know I act crazy sometimes," she said, her eyes going wide at the word, 'crazy', "But you're the only one who actually puts up with me! I mean, the others…they have to learn how to put up with me, but they always have a tolerance level. Like Dashie. She'll play pranks with me, but she only has so much patience for me. So she's good for pranks. And Twilight's smarty-smart-smart, but she can be a real party pooper sometimes. You shoulda seen her when she was trying to get me to explain my Pinkie Sense."

"I remember when she accepted it," Fluttershy offered.

"And Rarity, well, she has to deal with me a lot, but she doesn't GET me. YOU get me, out of all my friends."

Fluttershy counted in her head. "You forgot about Applejack."

"Did I?" Pinkie Pie said, stopping in her tracks and stomping her hoof a few times into the ground to count out how many friends she named. Then she laughed. "Oh, yeah. You know, ponies say she's a silly pony, but she's really not that silly! Not like me. But you get me," she said again. "Even when I pop out of nowhere and go SURPRISE!"

Somehow the pink mare managed to get on the other side of the Pegasus before she realized it, causing the Pegasus to startle and take cover. Pinkie Pie helped the mare up, but she was unsteady on her feet, as well, and ended up falling down, causing Fluttershy to fall on top of her. This caused Pinkie Pie to fall into a fit of giggles.

"Oh, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, helping the pink mare up. "Maybe we should get you to bed."

"Whoa!" Said the mare, putting up a hoof. "Not on a first date, sister."

"Huh?" Fluttershy turned her head to the side, confused by the response.

Pinkie Pie laughed again, "It's a bad joke, Flutters. Don't worry about it." She started off again towards the festival area, the Pegasus following close by. "You know what we should do? Oh! You know what would be so fun!" She looked at the Pegasus expectantly, but when no answer came, she gave her a quizzical look. "Well, do you?"

"Oh, you're asking me," Fluttershy said, laughing to herself. So much for 'getting' Pinkie Pie. "Well, I suppose we could…" the mare looked around before her eyes fell on the Fortune Telling booth. "We could have our fortunes told."

"Ooh!" Pinkie Pie grabbed the Pegasus, and before Fluttershy knew what had happened, they were at the booth, sitting in the chairs, an earth pony couple looking shocked as they realized the chairs they were about to sit in were taken. "We'd like our fortune told, please!"

"Uh, Pinkie," Fluttershy said. "Maybe we should wait our turns…" But the couple had already given the snub nose, and walked away. "Oh...I supposed we can go now."

The fortune telling mare, whose eyes were wide from shock at how fast her seats were taken, cleared her throat and regained her composure, before looking at her cards. "What would you like to know?" she asked.

Matching the mare's mystical voice, Pinkie Pie asked, "How many bits will this take?" Fluttershy bit back a laugh.

"Fours bits each," said the mare, holding out a hoof expectantly. Pinkie Pie paid the mare, before sitting back and giving a wink to Fluttershy. "What…about your future," the mare specified, "Would you like to know?"

"Will Flutters and I be friends forever?" At this question, Pinkie Pie pulled Fluttershy's chair close to hers and draped a foreleg around her. Fluttershy smiled to the earth pony, putting a wing around her.

The fortune teller cut her cards, shuffled them, lay them out, took them back up, shuffled them again, swatted away Pinkie's hoof when she tried to help with the shuffling, laid them back down, then asked Pinkie Pie to pick out ten cards. The mare closed her eyes and jabbed at the cards randomly, at times just poking at the table. Fluttershy had to guide her hoof back to the cards so she could jab in the correct area.

Once she had the cards, the mare put them into a spread, setting up a cross on one part of the table, and lining the four remaining cards on the other side. Pinkie Pie opened her eyes and "oohed" at the tarot spread. When finished, the mare turned over the first card.

"You are surrounded by close friends, I see, who are very important inEquestria, as well as important to you and would do anything to keep you safe. You are a very lucky mare."

"I know," said the mare, hugging the Pegasus tighter.

She flipped over the second card. "But you will have some difficulties coming up in the near future. Your situations are changing. All of you are going to be coming to a crossroads in life. You are beginning a path that will lead you to the rest of your life, and will need to have understanding of each other's situations to be able to remain strong after this big change."

"Oh, no," Pinkie Pie said.

"Its okay, Pinkie," said the Pegasus. "We've been through so much together. We can't fall apart easily. Unless you count Discord, but he was a very bad exception."

"Yes," said the mystic as she turned over the third card. "That must be the adversity I see that you faced in your recent past. But you all overcame it, and were stronger friends because of it." She turned over the fourth card. "In fact, some of your relationships brought you a lot closer than you realize, making for this large change coming up."

"What in the recent past could give us hard times ahead?" Pinkie Pie asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"A change in your relationships," said the mare. She flipped over the fifth card. "If you do not allow these changes to occur, then each of you will pursue your own paths, and slowly drift away from each other as your life roads lead in different directions."

"I don't think I like this idea anymore," Pinkie Pie said to Fluttershy.

"That is very unsettling," agreed the Pegasus, hugging her friend closer.

"But if you allow these changes to let you flourish, despite the difficulty it will bring, then you and your friends will only become closer by the end." The mare turned over another card, then looked to Pinkie. "You see yourself as a happy pony, and that life should be about fun and laughter, and never thought about yourself outside of this realm. You may have had difficulty recently when made to be something you did not see yourself as."

"Not following you, there, sister," said the pink mare with a frown.

"Maybe she means when you first had to babysit the twins," Fluttershy offered. "You told me you've never done something so difficult in your life, but it was all worth it."

Pinkie Pie seemed to mull that over, before nodding in satisfaction. "Okay, go on," she said.

Confused by this, the mare shook her head and continued. "So you are unsure of how you will react with such a change in you and your friend's relationships, but you have proven to yourself recently that you can be more than the summation of what you think you are. Challenge yourself to be something more than what you have thought yourself in the past to be, and you will find you can easily handle this new situation and be happier in the end."

"Okay," Pinkie Pie said, with uncertainty in her voice.

"And your friends will always be there for you, even if they don't seem like it at times."

"Well, I should hope so," said the mare, eyeing the fortune teller warily.

"You hope to stay with your friends for as long as you all should live, but your afraid of being left alone, without anypony to be there with you, and no one to share your laughter with."

"Okay, now you're creeping me out," said the pink mare, giving a toothy smile, but lacking conviction in her face to follow through with the feeling. The Pegasus hugged her closer. She knew what it was like to be afraid of something. She was afraid of everything, at times. But it was hard to think of Pinkie Pie, of all ponies, having fears like those.

"And this card," finished the tarot card reader. "Is where to look next to take you into your new direction."

"Where's that?" asked the mare.

"To somepony very close to you. And I imagine…somepony who is sitting next to you." Both mares looked at Fluttershy, who smiled with unease.

"Oh, I know Fluttershy will always be there for me," Pinkie Pie said, nuzzling the pony she was still hugging. "But what is this thing we're going to face. I mean, we've faced a lot of things in the past, but what could be so dangerous it could nearly tear our friendship apart?"

The mare didn't answer. She simply pointed at the first card. Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy leaned in close to get a closer look. Staring back at them was a card with two ponies, and the words underneath that said, "The Lovers."

Both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stared at the card, not understanding what it meant.

"So…" the earth pony said. "Two love birds are going to try and drive our friendship apart?"

The mare sighed, before holding out a hoof for Fluttershy. The Pegasus looked to Pinkie Pie, unsure of what to do, but the earth pony waved her hoof in encouragement. The mare took Fluttershy's hoof and began to read the striations on the mare's hoof. "Yes. I can see it clearly. Tonight is a night for lovers, and it is not accident you two came to me, here." Both mares stared at the fortune teller, confused. "_Love_ will get in your way." Still confused, both ponies cocked their heads to the side at the same time. "You two are more than just friends, right?"

At this, Pinkie Pie removed her foreleg from around Fluttershy, and the Pegasus her wing from around the earth pony. They both flushed furiously. "NO!" Pinkie Pie said so vehemently, it made the fortune teller lean back. "No, no, no! We're just on a date. Together!" She yelled, as though that clarified things. But then realizing it made the fortune teller's prediction sound true, she stammered, "Uh, gee, wha…I mean-"

"It's not officially a date," the Pegasus offered. Pinkie Pie pointed boisterously to the Pegasus and nodded. "Our friends couldn't come out tonight, so we thought we would have fun. Together." Then, suddenly, it didn't sound like they were doing something as innocent as hanging out together. Wait, hanging out, there was a good term. "We're just hanging out tonight," the Pegasus finished.

The fortune teller smiled knowingly at the two. The two friends made eye contact with each other, smiled nervously, before Pinkie Pie said, "Wanna go do something else."

"Yes, please." And both mares jumped to their hooves and trotted off quickly, away from the fortune reader.

* * *

><p>Fancy Pants and Rarity walked down the streets of Ponyville. Rarity looked around at the festivities she wouldn't normally bat an eye at, before she started to feel incredibly foolish. The hayride was being pulled past them with lovers sitting next to each other, enjoying the ride. The booths with vendors and fun little games were set up for anypony to get involved. She even caught a glimpse of her sister yelling in glee as she chased after her friends down the street. And they passed the bon fire, where the story of the day they commemorated on this festival night was being read aloud. And all of it was sooo…rustic.<p>

"Over here is the town hall," Rarity said, looking up to the hall, in the middle of repair. "I was in charge of setting up decorations of the Summer Solstice here a few years back. It looked lovely, mind you."

"I can imagine it did," Fancy Pants said. "My, it's much quieter here than in Canterlot. Every restaurant and block try and outdo each other with music at night. Here, it's just in the one stage area, and you can walk away from it if you'd like. You can even enjoy the stars at night! The lights are so bright in Canterlot. Sometimes I wonder if Princess Luna needs to get away from the city just to raise the moon at night!"

"Or paint the stars," Rarity added. "I don't know if she does do that, actually, but when I was a filly, I used to think that Princess Celestia must have painted the night sky into being. Of course, I didn't really know about Princess Luna back then."

"Paint the stars," Fancy Pants repeated, smiling at the thought. "You truly are an artist, Rarity, to think of even the night sky as a canvas."

"Well," the mare said, smiling bashfully. "You are talking about a day when the Pegasi can change the sunset. I'm not the first pony to come up with the idea of changing celestial bodies." The two looked at each other and smiled.

Then Rarity's ears twitched as she heard familiar voices. A familiar country twang caught her ear, followed by a slightly raspy voice that she knew all too well. Over at the games area, Rarity could see Applejack and Rainbow Dash trying to get a ping pong ball in the center of a small ring in a small tub of water.

"You gotta aim it before you throw," Applejack said. "Not at the center, but just past it. These things , they don't got enough weight to them ta get to the middle."

"How do you know," Rainbow Dash said, her tongue sticking out and touching her upper lip in concentration as she aimed the ping pong ball.

"Ah used to run one of these games when a few years back to help somepony out. Now, come on. You can do it."

"Shhh," Rainbow Dash said. "You're breaking my concentration."

"Those are your friends, aren't they?" Fancy Pants asked, watching as Rarity's attention was taken away from their own conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "It's just I haven't seen them in a while, and I was debating with myself on whether I should say hi or…" She was interrupted by her own gasp when she noticed Rainbow Dash nuzzle Applejack, and give her a kiss on the cheek, causing the earth pony to blush incredibly red. "Oh, my, goodness! _Hide me_! They can't know that I know!" With that, she ran behind Fancy Pants, peered out from around his neck.

The Stallion was quiet for a moment, before he erupted into laughter. "Oh," Rarity said, though still hiding. "Well, now I feel silly."

"It's the most entertaining thing I've seen in a while," Fancy Pants said, still chuckling.

Rarity blushed. "Well, you don't have to laugh at me."

Letting his chuckles subside, a mirthful smile on his face, he cleared his throat before turning to the mare. "I'm sorry. It was rude, I know, but I'm not laughing at you as much as I'm laughing at how entertaining it all is."

Rarity looked back to the mares, who didn't seem to notice her as they put their concentration back on the game. "What's entertaining?"

"Well, Canterlot ponies wouldn't allow themselves to have such strong reactions to anything as though their life depended on it…though I suppose they believe their social lives do. But you've always let your personality shine," he said. "I noticed it that first meeting, at the Wonderbolt's Derby." Rarity was taken aback by the comment. She always TRIED to act with class and dignity, but she certainly hadn't tried to hold back her enthusiasm for the outcome of the Derby. And just because she didn't agree with Fancy Pants on who would win the Derby like everypony else did, she didn't realize how dangerous speaking her mind could be to her social status if they didn't agree with her. Still, she was a Ponyville pony, come-what-may, and she would probably never stop her strong personality from rearing its head even an inopportune times.

But rather than be flattered by the comment, Rarity logged it into her mind about things she found curious about this pony she called her date.

Taking advantage of the moment of silence, Fancy Pants asked, "Now, should we sneak away before your friends see you, or did you have something else in mind?"

"Well, we certainly don't have to SNEAK awa—they're looking this way! Go, go go!" Hurried by his date, Fancy Pants trotted away quickly as Rarity hid behind him.

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle opened up a book, showing it to Big Macintosh. She had all but forgotten about the festival, though he did bring the food cart through the library doors, as it just barely fit. They were now eating pastries and sharing stories. Though most of the stories came from the unicorn mare.<p>

"Can you read that?" she asked. The book was written in some sort of ancient Equestrian language, and Big Macintosh gave the mare a frown. "I know, right? I didn't even know Equestria had such a language until this book." she said, laughing. "I was expected by my instructor to not only have this book read, but to be able to memorize three spells by the time summer solstice came about. I told him I didn't read any ancient languages, but he insisted I should know these things.

"Well, Princess Celestia could see I was stressed out during one of her lessons, and I explained to her what was wrong, and she was sooo mad at my teacher. Apparently, he expected since I knew so many spells that the Princess had taught me, most of which couldn't be found in most modern day books, that I must have been lying about my abilities so he would go easier on me. I can only imagine what the Princess said to him to make him apologize to me so profusely."

Big Macintosh gave a gentle smile. "Ah'm sure any talkin' to the Princess would give would be frightenin''."

"Well, that's true," the unicorn said, placing the book on a table.

"Shouldn't you put that back?"

"Huh?" Twilight Sparkle looked at the book. She had never been chided by anypony but Spike about putting books back where she found them. That was his job, after all. The unicorn frowned, but put the book back where she thought she got it from.

"One over," said the stallion.

"What?"

"Ya got the book from one over," he said. He ambled up to the book shelf and pointed at where the book came from. Unamused, Twilight Sparkle replaced the book where it belonged. The stallion nodded in satisfaction before walking back to the middle of the room. "Y'know, Ah've met the Princess before?"

"Really?" asked the unicorn, trotting up to the stallion. "She's been to town a few times, but last time she was in town, you didn't come to the party. Applejack did, though."

"Well, she's sumthin' special. Ah ain't," Big Macintosh said.

"That's not true, of course you're something special," the unicorn protested.

The stallion looked off to the side and smiled. "Ah'm not like you and your friends," he clarified.

"Oh," Twilight Sparkle said, blushing slightly. Of course, he wasn't an element of harmony. She really didn't need to be so adamant about her position. Clearing her throat, she asked, "So, where did you meet her?"

"E'vry once in a while, we get an order from Canterlot when their supply runs short. It don't happen often, but e'vry so often. The Princess was ridin' through town, and she thanked me fer the apples."

"That seems like something she would do," the mare nodded.

"But Ah don't think she knew what to do with me," he said

"How so?"

"Well, You mighta noticed Ah don't talk much." Twilight gave the stallion a look, and he smiled. "But the Princess can talk a lot. Ah was nervous, Ah barely spoke."

"Hmm," said the mare. "I wonder what you look like nervous."

"Pro'bly something like this," he said. There was no change in his demeanor. Not sure if that was a joke, Twilight let a small smile creep across her face, until the two started to laugh. "Ah'm sure you're not nervous 'round the princess."

Twilight snorted. "Ask any of my friends. They'll tell you differently." The stallion gave her a quizzical look. "I may have known her since I was a filly, I may have studied under her tutelage, and I may have accidentally walked in on her once her during her bath time…and don't ask me to clarify that, I don't know why I mentioned it just now…but there are still things about her that terrify me. I mean, she's the RULER of EQUESTRIA. She raises the sun everyday!"

Big Macintosh smiled.

"What?"

"Ah used to think very differently of you," he said.

"Let me guess," she said, "Stuck up Canterlot girl who could call on mommy Celestia whenever she felt wronged? You wouldn't be the first."

"No," he said. "You were Princess Celestia."

Twilight Sparkle smiled. "Yes, I can see how you would get us confused," she said in a dry voice.

"You were…" he stopped for a moment to think of a word. "Unreachable."

The mare went quiet for a moment, not sure how to take that comment. Then her mind went to what she had just mentioned about what how well she knew Princess Celestia, and the thought of Big Macintosh walking in on her during her bath time popped into her head, and the mare snorted a laugh at the thought. At the confused look she was given, she tried to stop laughing, but suddenly she started taking all the memories of her and the princess, and replaced them with her and Big Macintosh, and she started laughing more.

"I'm sorry!" she said when her laughter calmed down. "It's just…images in my head." She laughed a little longer, enduring the increasing annoyance of the stallion across from her, before she managed to calm down enough and try to explain why she was laughing so hard. At hearing some of the explanations, the stallion went from annoyance to embarrassment. After the mare calmed down, she took a deep breath and smiled. "Am I reachable now?" she asked.

"Well," he said, "Now you remind me of a friend mah sister used to have."

"Is she reachable?" Twilight Sparkle asked, putting her hoof out in question.

"Not quite," he said.

"Oh," the mare frowned. "Why not?"

"She's the one who broke my Smart Pants doll."

"Oh," Twilight said, feeling uneasy. "I promise I won't do that."

"Ah know," he said. "You're better than her, already."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Chapter 8 – Night**_

"You know what we should do?" Pinkie Pie asked Fluttershy. They had all but forgotten about the awkwardness of the fortune teller's fortune. Instead, the decided to play games all night. At one point, they ran into Rarity and Fancy Pants, for which Pinkie Pie happily took credit for them having such a nice night, and even saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo race by, saying hi to them as they passed, before being chased by Spike, who was carrying some dolls they had won from the game booths. Pinkie Pie herself had won several dolls, and gave a little Daring Do doll to Fluttershy, since she seemed sad not to have won any games. Pinkie Pie was still a little buzzed from all the wine, but Fluttershy was still caught off guard by how stumbling and giggly drunk Pinkie was compared to her sober self.

"You know, the bonfire looks nice," Fluttershy said. She was exhausted by now. Between her dress that she felt uncomfortable in, and keeping up with Pinkie Pie, she didn't want the night to end, but she needed it to slow down, that was for sure.

"Sure! We can totally tell some stories by the fire," she said, trotting along happily.

The bon fire was surrounded by couples of all types. Pinkie Pie sat down next to Lyra and Bon Bon, then patted the ground next to her to have Fluttershy join her.

"Um," said the earth pony next to the pink pony, "The bon fire is for couples. Not just a couple of ponies."

Pinkie Pie smiled broadly to Bon Bon. "OH, we're soooo a couple! We're each other's date for the holiday!"

"Really?" asked the earth pony. "Because I've never seen you two together without your friends before."

"We're totally a couple!" Pinkie Pie said, Fluttershy blushing bright red.

"Um, Pinkie, if they only want romantic couples at the bon fire, maybe we should leave."

"See?" Bon Bon said. Lyra nudged her date and made a face at her. "Well, she's going to ruin the mood!"

"Excuse me?" Pinkie Pie said, frowning. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lyra sighed, but Bon Bon continued. "You're here just to have fun, but we're here to be with our special somepony, okay?"

Pinkie Pie's mouth dropped. "I AM here with my special somepony, okay?" She said, pointing to Fluttershy, who had shrunk down at the undue attention. "We are _totally_ a couple tonight! Do I have to PROVE to you that she's special to me?"

"Oh, Pinkie," Fluttershy said softly, "You don't have to prove anything to them. I know I'm special to you just like you are to me."

"No, no, no, no, no," Pinkie said, waving her hoof. "She's trying to make you feel bad for sitting at the bonfire, like she owns it. You don't own it, Bon Bon!"

"I never pretended to own it," said the earth pony. "I just want to sit here and enjoy the bonfire without SOMEPONY making it into a joke hanging out with her friend."

Pinkie Pie pulled Fluttershy close to her, and put a forearm around the mare. "Well, I don't know what you're talking about, unless you mean mare friend, because we are totally a couple tonight."

"P-Pinkie," Fluttershy said, blushing.

Bon Bon scoffed. "If that's what it means to you to be in a relationship, then seeing ponies standing next to each other must be risky behavior to you!" She leaned back against Lyra, who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Oh?" Pinkie Pie said, before turning to Fluttershy and kissing her on the cheek.

"…Oh, my," the Pegasus said, turning even more red. "Maybe…we should just leave before this gets…"

"Shh, it's okay, I got this," the earth mare whispered in the Pegasus ear, but there was a brightness in her eyes that wasn't there before she pecked Fluttershy on the cheek.

"Oh, wow," Bon Bon said, unimpressed. "You kissed her like a filly greeting their grandmother. Hot."

"You want hot?" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes wide, accepting the challenge.

"Uh, Pink—" Fluttershy wasn't able to finish her statement as Pinkie Pie leaned in and kissed the Pegasus full on the lips.

Whether she meant it as a joke, or felt playful because she was still a little tipsy, or was just determined to win her argument, didn't matter after a moment. The world fell away, as Fluttershy's eyes went from wide in shock to closing to fall into the kiss. Pinkie Pie pulled the mare closer as she deepened the kiss. Fluttershy felt her heart pounding hard. She would have thought of such a situation to feel weird or awkward or horribly embarrassing, but as her mind went numb and all that existed was the other mare's feel, taste, warmth, she didn't think about any of that. She really didn't think about anything at all.

Finally, the two pulled away from each. Fluttershy opened her eyes around the same time as Pinkie Pie.

Then they realized what they had just done.

"Whoa," said Bon Bon.

"Goad them some more," Lyra whispered. "Maybe they'll do that again."

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to say something, an awkward smile spread across her face, but nothing came out. Her face was as red as Fluttershy's face felt. The Pegasus put her hooves up to her mouth, her eyes still wide in shock.

"Uh, are you two okay?" asked the earth pony who was watching them.

"I gotta go," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, me too," Pinkie Pie said.

And they both ran off in different directions.

* * *

><p>Rarity trotted next to Fancy Pants, who had his usual serene smile on his face. "What do you think of Ponyville? I know it's no Canterlot."<p>

Before he could answer, a voice chimed out, "RARITY!" and the mare was tackled to the ground by a pink flash. "I have to talk to you! Right now!"

Stunned, the white unicorn stared up at her friend, her wide eyes narrowing in annoyance as she realized what had just happened. "Pinkie!" she breathed. "Do you KNOW how hard grass stains are to get out?"

"This is more important than grass stains!" Pinkie Pie said, flailing her forelegs around in a panic. "This is a disaster of epic proportions! The likes of which may destroy our friendship for years to come!" She leaned in so close, their noses squished together. "The fortune teller said so!"

Rarity's eyes shifted over to Fancy Pants, who was looking at the pink mare curiously, an eyebrow raised in scrutiny over his date's situation. Rarity wondered if he was trying to figure out if he was enjoying the situation or not. One mare pinning another mare to the ground, their noses so close together, they might as well be kissing? Upperclass or not, he was still male…

"Uh, would you excuse us for a moment, darling?" she asked, smiling awkwardly as her nose was still being pressed into by her friend's nose.

"It's alright, Rarity," he said. "I should probably catch the train back to Canterlot. The last train out will be running, soon."

"No!" Rarity practically screeched as she shoved her friend off of her and got to her feet. "I mean, there's no need to rush. Uh, can you meet me at my shop? This shouldn't take too long."

"That sounds fine," he said, smiling his gentile smile to Rarity. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Ms. Pie."

"Please, call me Pinkie," the earth pony said in her best attempt at a posh voice, standing proudly in her formal outfit.

As Fancy Pants walked off and out of sight, Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie and gave her a fierce look. "This better be impor-"

"I kissed Fluttershy!"

"….tant…." Rarity's mouth dropped after she finished her sentence. The pink pony danced from hoof to hoof as though she needed to use the bathroom. "So…it truly was a date!" The unicorn's eyes lit up. "This is…"

"Bad?" Pinkie Pie finished.

"INCREDIBLE!" Rarity said in a high voice. "I never even thought of it! Fluttershy is so shy, it never occurred to me that she would be…well, that's besides the point! Oh, my goodness! You simply have to tell me all the details! Tell me, tell me, _tell me_!"

"No, this is bad, bad, bad!" Pinkie said. "The fortune teller said this would ruin our relationship!"

"She did?" asked the mare, stepping back. Rarity put a lot of stock in what the fortune teller had to say – she had talked to her so many times before. But this, she didn't want to believe. "She said exactly that? That you kissing one of your best friends, who you care deeply about, and who would never do a thing to hurt you, would end your friendship?"

"W-well," the mare stopped her dancing and furrowed her brow in thought. "Well, no…she said we would have a hard time, but once we get through it, we'll be stronger than ever."

"Sounds like any relationship to me," Rarity said with a knowing smile.

Then Pinkie changed her attitude to one of annoyance, waving a hoof around to emphasize her words, "But this wasn't supposed to happen! I just wanted to take her out so she would forget about Angel! And yeah, we had a nice time, and she looked really cute in the dress I bought her, and it felt nice using her like a pillow, and she doesn't lose patience with me like everypony else does when they have to be around me so long, but I thought that was just because she was such a good friend!"

"…using her like a pillow…?"

"And she didn't exactly pull away when I kissed her," Pinkie Pie continued, "which I don't know if she was just being nice like Fluttershy is, or in shock, or really liked it, but she ran away afterwards! But what does that say, because I ran away too, but I have to say, I kinda _liked_ it! I mean, I don't feel that strongly about anything else. Except for maybe candy, but who doesn't like candy? And I know, the circumstances weren't that great – I mean, Bon Bon was really just getting on my nerves and I just wanted to sit by the fire with Fluttershy, and she was being pretty mean about it. Why did she have to be that way? I wasn't going to ruin anything for her! But then I kissed Flutters, and now she's run off somewhere, and I ran off too, and I don't know what to do!"

"Pinkie…"

"I mean, come on! Yeah, it makes me feel good when she smiles and I try to be there for her, and I'm not bothered when she gets scared or nervous…hey, sometimes I'M the one that makes her scared or nervous. She really doesn't take surprises well, does she? And maybe that's why she ran off, I mean, it WAS a surprise. But I have these weird feelings inside about what just happened, and I've never felt this way before, certainly not with a mare, that's for sure! And one of my best friends? I—" The pink mare squeaked as Rarity put a hoof to her mouth to make her be quiet.

"Pinkie, please, I didn't get any sleep last night," she said, rubbing her temple with her free hoof. "Now, I'm going to make this quick, because I don't want to leave Fancy Pants waiting. Now tell me…in as few words as possible…are those weird feelings your feeling good?"

"I don't know," said the mare once her mouth was freed. "I feel…" She tried to scrounge up a good word. "Like I swallowed a whole bunch of Fluttershies…BUTTERFLIES!" she quickly corrected herself. Then she giggled softly, followed by a snort. "Oh, I get the name, now."

"Well, from what you were saying before and the fact that she gave you butterflies in your stomach," Rarity broke into a wide smile as she finished her sentence, "Well, it sounds like it could be…serious."

"Bad serious?" Pinkie Pie said, putting hooves up to her mouth in fear. "Because I'm not good at being serious! Especially _bad_ serious!"

"Like wake-up-in-the-morning-next-to-the-one-you-love serious," Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie blushed at the notion, her eyes getting a far off look as she tried to picture what that kind of serious would be like in practice. Slowly, the panic ebbed away and a serene look came onto her face. "I like that kind of serious," she said. Then she looked panicked again. "But what if she doesn't feel the same way?"

"Yes, that's always a risk with that kind of serious," Rarity said, nodding, wondering about what kind of serious she and Fancy Pants were on, and how she truly felt about their night together. "And Fluttershy is very shy, but you have to treat it seriously. No kidding around or parties or anything. Just go and talk to her. Maybe with flowers." Then Rarity was taken aback by the grave look on Pinkie Pie's face. "Darling, what's wrong?"

"Well…" she said, looking as though she were on the brink of tears. "What if she doesn't want that kind of serious? I…I don't know if I could take it."

Seeing the pain on her friend's usually happy face made Rarity feel like her heart was breaking. She put a hoof around Pinkie Pie and gave her a small hug. She was actually a little proud of her friend at that moment. Pinkie was always so happy, so energetic, and sometimes obnoxious, that Rarity almost forgot how sensitive she truly was. And for her to feel so strongly about one of her friends, it just reminded the fashionista how serious she can be. "Pinkie, you can handle anything. And your friends will always be there for you both, no matter what. But I think you should talk to Fluttershy before you begin to panic. And if anything bad happens, you just come to my house, alright?"

Faced with her dread, Pinkie Pie nodded, wiping the tears that were forming from the corner of her eyes.

* * *

><p>Rarity walked back into her boutique to see Fancy Pants examining some of her dresses. She took a deep breath before walking up to him. The stallion turned to look at her, smiled, and looked back at the dresses. "Did everything work out okay with your friend, there?"<p>

"She just needed a little advice," Rarity said. "I hope I didn't keep you too long."

"Well," he said, looking at the time on his pocket watch. "I should leave soon to catch the last train."

Rarity nodded. "So, you never answered my question," she said.

"Ah, yes," he said, nodding. He wasn't looking at her. "Rarity, I'm afraid I have a confession to make."

"Oh?" Rarity's stomach clenched. "You hate it here. I'm so sorry!"

"No, quite the contrary," he said, turning to the mare. "I'm very glad I came here tonight. It's actually a relief to be here."

"Really?" Rarity asked, her eyes getting bright.

"Really. I should really thank your friend for suggesting it." Then he smiled sadly. "But I'm afraid I have to confess. My original reason for asking you to be my date tonight was not the best reason."

Rarity furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see," he said, losing any hint of a smile on his face. "I had a very upsetting public break up with Fleur about a month ago, and I needed to find somepony who was willing to be my date tonight. You see, I was invited to many soirees, and I know that Fleur would be at many of them, as well. I couldn't go alone, but finding somepony in Canterlot to go with me was…difficult, despite whatever status I may hold."

Rarity frowned. "You used me as your date to get back at Fleur?" Her stomach felt as though it had dropped away from her body. "And what? You decided you didn't want to be seen with me after all, and jumped at the chance to go to Ponyville? Is that it?"

"No! My dear! It's nothing like that," he said, backing up as Rarity leaned in close, scowling at him. "I was having such a good time with you. I had all intentions of showing you off as my date tonight, my dear! I could ask for no better companion."

"I'm not your arm candy, Fancy Pants," she hissed, venom in her words as she unconsciously moved forward, backing Fancy Pants into a corner. He looked genuinely scared, now. He had probably never had a mare like Rarity get quite so angry with him.

"Yes, I know, I apologize, Rarity," he said quickly. His monocle dropped from his eye hung from the chain that held it in place. "I wasn't thinking right. And that's why I needed to apologize to you!"

"Why even bother? You've been using me all night, anyway!"

"No, please, Rarity, you must understand," he said, putting up a hoof to try and calm her down. "I already enjoyed spending time with you. That's why I was so happy to see you in Canterlot! It meant I didn't have to invite somepony I didn't care about to be my date tonight."

"Well, how WONDERFUL for you," she said, turning away and putting her nose up. "I'm glad I was convenient enough for you to be a date on a holiday meant to couples!"

"Rarity, please," he said, putting a hoof to his temple. "If I could just finish explaining." Rarity turned away from him, but looked back at him as an invitation to keep going. "You are willful, beautiful, strong. You know how to be yourself, to take care of yourself, and even take care of your friends when they need you. I don't often get to meet anypony like you, and I'm glad that I got to know you better tonight. When your friend suggested coming to Ponyville, I admit, there was a part of me that didn't want to see Fleur at the parties tonight. But you have to remember, a pony like me is expected to be at those parties no matter what. Instead of thinking about any social status, all I could think about was that I would actually get a chance to spend time with you instead of running around talking nonsense at some stuffy party."

Rarity didn't want to admit it to herself, but he was right. His social status will probably be hurt by not going to any of the Canterlot parties that night. She hadn't even thought about that until then. So maybe…just maybe…he was telling the truth. "Go on," Rarity said, still turned away from the stallion.

"I did genuinely enjoy Ponyville," he said. "I can see how you get such creative designs from living here. And I am honestly intrigued by you, Rarity. I hope you can forgive my initial intentions. I never meant to harm you."

Rarity furrowed her brow, turning around to look at the stallion. He looked disheveled, reprimanded, very different from how he looked the rest of the night. She walked up to him, looked him in the eye. Just as she opened her mouth to say something…

BAM!

The door slammed open, causing both ponies to jump. In ran three screaming fillies, followed by a baby dragon carrying a load of toys won at the booths that night. Apple Bloom was chasing after Sweetie Belle, who was chasing after Scootaloo, yelling over each other about one thing or another. Rarity couldn't tell what they were yelling about, or why they felt compelled to chase each other around while yelling such things at each other, but by the third time they circled Fancy Pants and Rarity, she certainly wanted them to stop.

"Girls…girls. Girls! GIRLS!" The three fillies looked up to Rarity. "WHAT are you doing? Can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation?"

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle whined. "Scootaloo says that the dolls that she won are all hers, but some of them we won together, and Apple Bloom doesn't want the one doll that Scootaloo wants, but Scootaloo doesn't even play with dolls!"

"Pssh, that you know of," Scootaloo said. "I could be an avid doll collector, for all you know."

Apple Bloom chimed in, "By takin' only one doll? If that were true, why doncha have a doll for a cutie mark?"

"She just wants the dolls to impress Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie Belle said, pointing an accusing hoof at her.

"Hey! Just because Rainbow Dash HAPPENS to like Daring Do, and it HAPPENS to be a Daring Do doll, doesn't mean that I don't want the doll for myself."

"Oh, really?" Apple Bloom said. "Okay, since you're such a fan, what was the fourth book in the series?"

Silence.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes. "You win _this_ round, Apple Bloom."

"GIRLS!" Rarity screamed again. "I have a guest here tonight. Can you _please_ take you argument outside?"

The three fillies lined up in front of Fancy Pants, practically pushing Rarity out of the way. "Hi!" Sweetie Belle said. "I'm Sweetie Belle. I'm Rarity's little sister. This is Scootaloo and Apple Bloom! They're my friends. And that's Spike." She pointed a hoof at the dragon, who dropped the toys he was holding and narrowed his eyes in suspicion before giving a strained, "Hi." Then Sweetie Belle beamed up to the stallion. "Who are you?"

"Sweetie Belle," Rarity said warningly. "This is Fancy Pants. We were just-"

"Is she your special somepony?" asked the filly, smiling knowingly at the stallion.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said between grated teeth.

Fancy Pants gave a soft smile. "I'm afraid that's yet to be seen. We were just talking about something important before you came in."

Sweetie Belle turned to her sister. "But weren't you two on a date tonight? Rarity! Are you playing hard to get? I don't think you need to…"

Rarity narrowed her eyes at her sister, battling with the inner struggle of whether she should get into a screaming match with her little sister or get back to the conversation she was having.

"Well, Rarity," Fancy Pants said, "I'm afraid if I don't leave now, I will never get to the train before the last one lets out. I will…see you around, perhaps, next time you're in Canterlot?" Rarity parted her lips to respond, but the sadness in his voice threw her off and the right words failed to come out. "Alright, then," he said, fixing his monocle and standing up straight. "I best be on my way, now."

The stallion turned and walked towards the door as everyone in the room watched him. The door opened. He stepped out. And with a soft click, the door shut behind him.

"Well!" Spike said, his eyes getting bright as a wide smile split across his face. "Now that he's gone, we can go on with our lives! Right?"

The three fillies glared at Spike, but Rarity looked to the door, staring at it for a moment. Then she looked down to the little fillies who were staring up at her. Sweetie Belle looked sad at what had transpired. "Well," Rarity said. "You know, I think I may have some cookies in the kitchen."

"Cookies!" The three fillies chirped, before turning and running to the kitchen. When Spike didn't move, Rarity opened a chest full of jewels and took out a sapphire with her magic. "Oh, Spikey Wikey!" She held it up enticingly.

"Aw, for real, Rarity? You're going to give me one of your jewels?"

"Go join the girls in the kitchen. I'll be in soon." She lowered the jewel to his height. With a joyful giggle, he raced up to the sapphire, took it in his claws, and skipped off to the kitchen to join the others.

Then Rarity looked to the door. She took a deep breath. Standing there, with her pink dress that had been slightly muddied when her friend tackled her, and a rose in her hair from earlier, she knew what she had to do.

Rarity raced out the door, running at a full gallop. She ran down the streets lined with rose petals, past couples who were going home for the night, and towards the train station. He couldn't have gotten too far – she didn't spend too much time dawdling behind with her sister and her friends. She just needed to tell him.

She had a wonderful time that day. He was kind and gentle, and though his initial intentions hadn't been good, she felt truth in what he was saying, and frankly could forget all that and just think about what had happened that night. She couldn't let him think she was mad at him. If she let this moment pass, they may probably never get that moment again. And who knew if they could survive it! Sure, Rarity had a flair for the dramatic, but that was far too dramatic a blow for her love life to take.

Rounding the corner, she saw Fancy Pants walking near a fountain. "Oh, thank goodness!" she said to herself. Then she called out, "Wait! Fancy Pants!" The stallion turned around, surprise apparent on his face at seeing the mare.

Rarity started running towards him, running through her head what she was going to say, or at least how she was going to start it. She understood how social status worked. She knew how important it was for a pony of his stature to accept invitations to and attend parties. She had been through this in her head when she was in Canterlot. The fact that he would risk that to spend time with her meant something to her. And while she would have to make him earn her trust back, she did appreciate him for telling her the truth. He didn't have to do that.

Yes, that was a good thing to say.

She reached the stallion.

He put out his front legs as though to catch her.

Rarity ran into his forearms, and without even thinking about it, she kissed the stallion. His lips felt so soft. Her heart was pounding harder than it should have been from when she was running earlier. She felt her face flush.

The kiss lingered for just a little too long when Rarity finally realized what she had done. She pushed away from the stallion, putting a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, dear," she said. "That wasn't my intention at all! I'm so sorry, Fancy Pants!"

The stallion smiled, seemingly content with the entire situation. "I take it you forgive me, then?"

Rarity opened her mouth, but she completely forgot what she was going to tell him. Then she laughed and looked down to the ground. "Perhaps we could meet again soon and …talk about this?"

Fancy Pants nodded his head, "That sounds lovely."

* * *

><p>Applejack yawned as they walked through town. Rainbow Dash trotted along, looking at her date for the night. "What time do you usually go to sleep?"<p>

"Not this late," she said, "Gotta get up early to work on the farm."

"That sounds…like torture."

Applejack nudged her date with her hoof. "Not everypony can take naps in the middle of the day and still finish their work on time. That's how things are done on the farm."

"Yeah…Maybe I'll try it out someday. MAYBE."

Applejack furrowed her brow. "Why would ya wanna go and do somethin' like that?"

"Well," Rainbow Dash said, blushing slightly. She took a moment to think about what she was going to say. "You know, if you ever need help or something like that, you can count on the Dash."

"You've never offered to help before," Applejack said, narrowing her eyes. "Last Ah remember, you went and took a nap rather than help me out."

"Well, that was then," Rainbow Dash said, looking away, still blushing. "This is now."

Applejack couldn't understand why the Pegasus was acting the way she was. Rather than think about it too much on a tired mind, she just shrugged and continued on. That was when she saw Apple Bloom walking with Scootaloo and Spike. The mare's eyes shot open, before she called out to the filly.

"Applebloom!" she said, trotting up to the filly and her friends. "What are you still doing up? You should have been in bed hours ago!"

Scootaloo tried to hide a laugh, but ended up snorting. Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Geesh, way to cramp her style, AJ."

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom said, blushing. "Ah'm not a baby anymore. And it's a holiday!"

"But tomorrow isn't," Applejack said. "Why are you still out so late?"

"Aw, Ah was just walkin' with Scootaloo and Spike back to their place before I went home," she said.

But she was interrupted by Rainbow Dash, who noticed something Spike was carrying. "Is that what I think it is?" she said.

Spike looked at the toys he was carrying, before realizing what she was talking about. "Oh, you mean the Daring Do doll?"

At this, Scootaloo jumped in front of Spike and smiled a broad smile up to Rainbow Dash. "I won it at one of the game booths! Pretty cool, huh?"

At this, both Applejack and Apple Bloom sighed, but Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide like saucers. "I was trying to win it all night, but I couldn't get that stupid ring over that bottle! I would have tried to sneak one away if miss Honesty over here would have let me!"

"Are you still harpin' on that?" Applejack asked. "Don't go tellin' the fillies about how you wanted to steal a doll. You'll give 'em ideas!"

"Alright, kid," Rainbow Dash said, leaning back on her haunches, looking down at the smiling Pegasus filly. "What's it going to take to get you to part with that doll?"

"Oh, for pete's sake!" Applejack said. "Look, Rainbow, you take Scootaloo home while you negotiate or whatever. I'll take Spike home and head back to the farm with AB." Rainbow Dash looked over to the mare, a little shocked and looking slightly disappointed. Taken back by her reaction, she realized what was wrong and gave a soft smile. "You can join us later on the walk home, if you'd like."

Rainbow Dash gave a little smile before nodding before turning back to the Pegasus filly. As Applejack guided her sister in the direction of the library, she could hear Rainbow Dash saying, "So, what's it gunna take to get you to give me that doll, kid?"

Her attention was brought away from the conversation when Spike said, "You know, I don't need somepony to walk me to the library, right, Applejack?"

"Ah know, Spike, but that don't mean two friends can't walk together, does it?"

"Ah, well," Spike said, shrugging. "It would be nice if I could have hung out with my friends tonight. I feel like I was a babysitter all night."

"Hey!" Apple Bloom said, frowning. "We let you play the games with us."

"You LET me carry your toys for you," Spike said. "If that doesn't say something, I don't know what does."

Applejack chuckled. "A baby dragon babysittin' a filly. Ain't that somethin'?"

In front of the library, Spike placed a claw on the door, frowning at the two sisters in front of him. "Well, this wouldn't have happened if Twilight hadn't decided to go on a date instead of hanging out with me tonight."

"Date?" both ponies said at the same time, to which Applejack continued, "Who is she dat—" She stopped when Spike opened the door and all three of them were staring at Big Macintosh asleep on the floor, a blanket laid over him.

All three jaws dropped simultaneously.

"Mah brother?" Applejack said in a harsh whisper. "Twilight was on a date with mah brother? Mah best friend was dating mah brother? " She creeped up to her brother's sleeping form, trying to come to terms with the oddity of the her brother being in a location she wasn't used to seeing him in, and of all things, sleeping.

Apple Bloom tried to quiet her giggling. "Well, she _was_ around him a lot this mornin'," she said softly.

Then a voice came from upstairs. "Uhhh…" All three sets of eyes looked up to the pony. "H-hi, AJ…" Twilight was smiling sheepishly.

The farmer narrowed her eyes at the unicorn and pointed a hoof to her brother. "And what in the hay is this?"

"Well, er, you see," she started in a soft voice as she made her way down the stairs. "We were reading a book, but he's not used to staying up this late, and I guess he can sleep anywhere, because next thing I knew, he had fallen asleep." By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, she finished her explanation, then once again gave her sheepish smile.

Applejack opened her mouth to say something else when a voice came behind her. "Success! I am now the proud owner of a Daring Do doll!" Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash trotting up to them, the doll tucked under her wing. "I just….have to have lunch with the kid every weekend for a month." The Pegasus looked at the doll under a wing, concern on her face, probably wondering if it was worth it.

Big Macintosh jerked awake at the blue mare's loud voice, and stared dumbly at his little sisters, then at everypony else in the room staring at him. His eyes went wide as he looked around where he had woken up. Then his eyes fell on Twilight Sparkle, and he shot up to his feet as fast as possible. The unicorn smiled and bit back a laugh.

"Uh," Rainbow Dash said, furrowing her brow. "Did I walk in on something?"

"Been hanging out with Rainbow Dash all day, Applejack?" Twilight Sparkle asked with a knowing smile.

"Uh," the orange mare said, blushing. "What about you and mah brother here?" She pointed a hoof between the two.

"…maybe we should just stop asking each other question."

"Agreed. Come on, Apple Bloom." Applejack ducked under her sister and scooped her up onto her back. "Time for you to go to bed." Apple Bloom started to complain, but was interrupted by her own yawn. She started trotting off past Rainbow Dash, who was looking around, confused.

"Wait, what's going on? What did I miss?" The Pegasus asked.

Applejack called back to the mare, "Come on, sugar cube. Walk me home, will ya?"

"Oooh," Rainbow Dash said, turning away from the Library and trotting up to Applejack. "With pleasure."

* * *

><p>Twilight Sparkle was chuckling at the shocked and confused expression on Big Macintosh's face. "You alright, there?"<p>

He raised an eyebrow to the unicorn said, "Eeyup."

Spike walked up to the stallion and nudged him with his claw. "Sheesh, what were you guys reading that put you to sleep? I mean, just about any of Twilight's books can put ME to sleep. But I didn't think that happened to everypony!"

"Spike," Twilight said, raising her eyebrows. "Shouldn't you be getting to sleep, too? I don't want you falling asleep on the stairs again. I nearly broke my neck last time I tripped over you."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault," he said. "You were busy reading a book! Who reads a book while walking down stairs. I'm surprised you haven't had more book related accidents!"

"Spike," Twilight Sparkle said sternly, narrowing her eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone to say goodnight to your DATE, then," he said, grumbling as he walked past the mare and up the stairs.

Twilight glared at Spike as she walked up to Big Macintosh, before turning to him and smiling. "Sorry about all that. They came home with Spike, and I was upstairs at the time."

"S'alright," he said. "Applejack's not gunna let it go, though."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the stallion. "Maybe if you didn't tease her so much, that wouldn't be a problem." Then her ears fell back against her head. "You don't think she's mad at me, do you?"

"Naw," he said, walking over to his pastry cart. "She's just surprised. And she might give ya a talkin' to 'bout treatin' her family right, but that's 'bout it."

"Um, Big Macintosh?" The stallion stopped just as he was about to try and push the cart around so he could get it out the door. "I had a really nice time today." She felt herself blushing, and looked down to her hooves. "I was wondering if…if maybe we can do this again, sometime?" She glanced up to the stallion, who raised his eyebrows at her.

She felt her stomach tighten in dismay. Of course, he didn't have time to just go running around with his sister's friend. How stupid was she to ask him that? She didn't often think of herself as stupid, but now it felt like she had just stepped in something she should have walked around and forgotten about after she passed it. But no, she decided to walk right into it, and now she was standing there, feeling ridiculous, with a handsome stallion that probably has no interest in her was scrutinizing her.

Big Macintosh walked up to the unicorn, and she forced herself to make eye contact with him. She didn't want to hear what he had to say, but there was no avoiding that now.

"Ah'm busy durin' the day," he said. "But maybe we can finish that book. Ah promise Ah won't fall asleep next time."

Twilight Sparkle broke into a wide smile and responded with a voice too high, "Yes, that sounds perfect!" At this, Big Macintosh smiled. He then bowed his head and kissed her on the cheek.

The unicorn's cheeks blushed bright red.

Big Macintosh backed up and smiled at the unicorn. "Is tomorrow alright?"

"Well," said the mare, looking off to the side, not able to get the smile off her face. "That only makes sense. It's a long book."

She helped the stallion out with his cart, both silent, both with a smile on their face. After he fastened the cart back onto his back, he turned to Twilight Sparkle and smiled, before heading on his way.

The unicorn closed the door with her magic, and turned to lean against the door. She sighed with content.

Then she was filled with regret.

She should have kissed him on the lips…

* * *

><p>Fluttershy tried to busy herself with cleaning in her cottage, feeding the nocturnal animals, and making sure she had food for the next day. She had long taken off her dress and laid it across her bed. Then she told herself she couldn't hide from the world and had to do something as not to think about what happened that night.<p>

As she cleaned up a few more items in her cottage, she heard a knocking on her door.

Well, that was odd. Why would someone be there so late?

"Fluttershy?" The Pegasus' heart jumped into her throat. Pinkie Pie was outside her door. And they had…they had…and now she was at her house? What did she want? She was hoping they would come to a mutual "this never happened" agreement. "Fluttershy, I know you're in there! Just can we talk? Please?"

She looked around for Angel Bunny to get some sort of advice from him, but she had completely forgotten that he was at the vet. A tinge of sadness creeped up on her before she looked to the door. Slowly, she walked to the door, then opened it up just enough to peek outside.

Pinkie was still wearing her dress, though slightly disheveled. She carried a bouquet of daffodils in her mouth. Her expression – pained and sad.

Feeling for her friend, Fluttershy opened the door and let her in. The pink mare trotted inside, and pushed the flowers into the Pegasus' forelegs. "These are for you!" she said, her eyes wide as though she were in a panic. "And I just wanted to say…"

"It's okay, Pinkie," Fluttershy said. "You don't have to apologize. Everything was…unexpected."

Pinkie's mouth fell open. "Apologize?" she asked. "No, no, no! I didn't come to apologize! Well, maybe a little. I didn't mean to run off on you like that. I apologize for that. But not for the kiss! Never for the kiss! I mean, it was a good kiss, right, Fluttershy? "

Fluttershy turned bright red. "Um…"

"It wasn't good? But I'm a GREAT kisser!" Pinkie Pie said, frowning and throwing her hooves up in the air.

"That's not what I…"

"Oh, I know, you were nervous the first time. All those ponies watching. Here, let me do it again," she grabbed Fluttershy and before the Pegasus could utter a protest, they were kissing again.

When Pinkie Pie pulled away, Fluttershy squeaked, "PINKIE!" before putting her hooves to her mouth, looking anywhere but her friend. She had nowhere to run to. She was at her own home. And surely Pinkie would follow her wherever she went.

"What, was it bad?" Pinkie Pie asked, getting more panicked with each passing moment. "Because I felt it. I don't know if you felt it, but I did! Oh, no," at this, Pinkie Pie stepped back and shrunk down. Her eyes were wide, a frown spread across her face. "You don't feel the same way about me…"

Pushing aside her embarrassment and confusion, Fluttershy could only think of her friend after seeing the effect it was having on her friend. "Oh, Pinkie, no," she said, coming up close to the pink mare, who was looking away from her. "It's not that. I-i-i-it was a…very nice…kiss." She didn't think she could turn any more red. Her cheeks were burning. "It's just that everything happened so fast. And you know, I'm not good with surprises."

Pinkie Pie sniffed. There were tears threatening to fall from the corner of her eyes. "Really?" she asked, daring to look at the other pony.

"Really," Fluttershy said. She hated the idea that she might have made Pinkie Pie cry. She was older than the earth pony, and though Pinkie went out of her way at times to try and take care of her, she knew there were times when she had to take care of her friends. She just didn't think it would involve something like…being in love with one of them.

Really, Fluttershy didn't know what to say. She was flattered that Pinkie kissed her. Sure, she was mortified at first, but she certainly couldn't say it was a bad thing. She was often happy to see the earth pony, and they always got along just fine. It always made her feel warm and cozy when Pinkie Pie would defend her. And when she pushed aside the feeling of dread and panic over what had transpired earlier, she could find that she certainly didn't hate either kiss. In fact…

"Pinkie," Fluttershy said, inching closer to the earth pony, who was looking at her with big, watery eyes. "I-I-I don't really…understand what's happening here. I don't usually feel strongly about anything aside from taking care of my animals. I usually….well, I often only feel…afraid." She lowered her head, letting her mane fall over her eyes, trying to escape into her own cocoon as she formulated what she was about to say. "But a day like today…it was so wonderful! And it was because I was spending time with you."

Before she could look up, Pinkie Pie had hugged Fluttershy, spun her around, and squeezed her so tight; she thought she would never be able to breathe again. "Oh, Fluttershy! You don't know how happy that makes me!" She leaned forward to give the mare a kiss on her lips, but Fluttershy pulled back.

"Uh, Pinkie," she said with a small panic in her voice. "Can we…at least take it slow. It's all so…new."

"And exciting!" Pinkie Pie said, smiling widely. Then she cleared her throat and tried to look serious. "Take it slow. Got it."

Fluttershy smiled at that, still being tightly embraced by the pink pony. She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the nose. Then she felt her face get red again.


	9. Epilogue

**_EPILOGUE_**

Applejack opened her eyes slowly. It was morning, though it was a little later than she usually woke up. Not something she would want to make a habit, that was sure, but for one morning, she could afford staying in bed for a little bit.

She didn't want to get up – not yet, at least. Thoughts of the day before slowly creeped into her mind, making her smile as she took in a deep breath. The memory of that first kiss made her bite her lip, trying to keep the smile on her face in control, though there was nopony in the room to see her.

She turned in her bed, curling up in a ball as she snuggled in her blankets, remembering the warm feeling of the other pony who was just-so-close to her the day before. She kind of wished she could have woken up next to her that day, but that might have been a little much. No need to rush things. They could take it slow. Though the fastest pony in Equestria might have other ideas when it came to that…

Still…thinking about the Pegasus alone in her cloud home made her feel cold. She just imagined the cold wind with very little to get in its way wafting through Rainbow Dash's home. If only she could be there to keep her warm at night.

…If that was a problem for Pegasi. She never thought about it too much until then. She would have to ask Rainbow Dash.

Oh, if she could just live in that feeling of warmth and contentment in the knowledge that her affection was returned by the pony she had long had feelings for.

But with the knock on the door, she knew she had to get back to work. Applejack sighed, stretched, and got up as the door slowly creaked open. Big Macintosh peered inside, an eyebrow raised. "Ah'm up, Ah'm up," she said, grabbing her hat from the bed post and tossing it onto her head. Then she smiled. "Not like Ah fell asleep at mah date's house like someponies."

Applejack opened the door and brushed past Big Macintosh, who was frowning.

She couldn't help but notice he was also blushing.

* * *

><p>Rarity woke up slowly. She was sore all over. For a moment, she had no idea where she was until she realized that she had fallen asleep at her sewing table.<p>

She gasped as she jerked awake, then gave an anguished shriek as she realized it was already morning. MORNING! She hadn't finished her other orders yet!

The unicorn could practically hear her bones creek as she jumped to her hooves and began running around her boutique, using her magic to frantically piece together pieces of cloth, buttons, sequins, feathers, and thread together, slapping the final pieces onto the dress she was making, taking full advantage of the adrenaline rush that had overwhelmed her.

Just as she scrounged up pair of scissors to clip some ribbon, she noticed her reflection in the mirror.

The she stopped cold.

She still had the rose in her mane. And to think, she had all but forgotten about the night before.

She took the rose out of her mane, and placed it delicately on the sewing table. Then she decided it wouldn't be safe there, and took it into the kitchen. She placed it on the table, then smiled. She would have to hang it to dry so she could keep it for as long as she wanted.

After a moment, she looked at the clock, and gave another shriek, before running back into her sewing room.

* * *

><p>Twilight woke up slowly, adjusting to the feeling of being awake in the morning after having a very productive dream. It was productive in that she went through a spell in her dream that had been troubling her, which had been solved by brushing her hair with a kitten.<p>

She had no idea what the kitten had to do with anything, but it made her think of static electricity, and that was what she believed to be missing from the formula.

After taking out a scroll she kept by her bedside and writing down the idea, she got up, tried to wake Spike up, got ready for the day, and continued with her morning per usual.

Between setting up her experiment she had planned on working on that day and going to visit Rarity – both of which were written on her list of things to do for the day - the mare took a moment to look at the books in the fiction section of her bookshelf.

After a few moments, she removed two books and placed them on a table.

She thought Big Macintosh might like to read them.

After smiling to herself, she went back to her to do list to continue with her day.

* * *

><p>Pinkie Pie jerked awake as she did every morning. Only this morning, she jerked her head back a second time when she had no idea where she was. Looking around, she realized she was on the couch at Fluttershy's cottage.<p>

The pink mare saw Fluttershy quietly sleeping next to her. Pinkie Pie felt her face flush.

That's right. She had kept the Pegasus up all night.

_Talking_.

Just talking.

They had discussed things from their relationship, to their friendship, to the friendship of everypony else, to the fortune they had received, to whether making a giant cupcake out of jello would still make it a cupcake, and back to their relationship and the fortune.

"We'll be fine," Fluttershy said, nodding knowingly, before yawning deeply, trying hard to keep up with the pink mare's energy. "She said we would be. Could you imagine if all of us were in relationships?"

"We're going to be!" Pinkie Pie said, eyes widening on the thought. "We just have to remember that it's going to be hard on our friendship. We'll just have to work extra hard and keeping up with our friends...and each other." She smiled to Fluttershy.

Now, with the Pegasus asleep against her, snoring softly, Pinkie had the overwhelming feeling that everything would be just fine.

Pinkie Pie laid her head back down, hoping to further enjoy the feeling of waking up next to the pony she loved.

For a moment, everything was quiet.

Then…

"Oh, my GOODNESS!" Fluttershy said in as loud a voice as she would be expected to have without provocation. "Angel bunny! He must be wondering where I am!" Fluttershy looked around in confusion, before catching Pinkie Pie's eye contact, then jumped from her position next to the mare into a standing position. "PINKIE! What…what…" she looked around. "What did we do last night?"

"Don't you remember?" Pinkie Pie asked, pouting. "It was such a special night?"

Fluttershy's face slowly turned beet red. "Oh…my."

Pinkie Pie burst out laughing. "No, silly, we were talking all night!"

"Oh!" The mare let out a nervous giggle. "Right."

"Well, come on!" Pinkie Pie said, stretching out her muscles. "Let's go get your bunny back!" With a look of determination and adventure, Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof triumphantly to the door, before charging out of it.

Fluttershy stared after the mare for a moment, before following her out the door. "Um, Pinkie...you're still wearing your dress from last night…"

* * *

><p>It was late morning by the time Rainbow Dash finally stirred in her bed. She didn't have to work that day, so hadn't set her alarm. It was all for the best, however, as she was too ecstatic the night before to fall asleep easily. She smiled at the memory of the goodnight kiss Applejack had given her before heading into her home. She tried to contain her excitement at the newness of her relationship with the mare of her dreams, but ended up dissolving into excited squealing and kicking the covers off of her.<p>

Stretching her wings, the Pegasus knew the first place she wanted to go. Sure, she didn't have to work that day, but she did want to help Applejack out on the farm. Sure, it may have been work, but it was spending time with her new mare friend! Plus, it would earn points with the farmer that she could exchange for later – say for convincing the earth pony to watch a Wonderbolts show with her sometime.

She quickly fed Tank his breakfast, got ready for the day, then opened her front door with gusto. The wind hit her face, setting her mane flickering behind her, giving her a burst of energy that she hardly needed. Bending down low, the Pegasus took off like a shot through the air, trailing a rainbow behind, as she headed towards Sweet Apple Acres.

* * *

><p><em>AN: sorry for taking so long to finish this story. I just kept getting distracted. If you stuck with me this long, thank you! Hope you enjoyed reading! Watch out for other stories I do - I have a lot in mind that just need to be written! Thanks again!_


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